Community Service
by Star-of-Chaos
Summary: Chaos ensues and an 18-year old secret is revealed when a young New Orleans thief is forced to pay his debt to society in an unusual way. A story of love, loss, family, sacrifice and second chances. Rogue/Remy
1. Everyone has a bad day now and then

AN

AN: I do not own the X-men. Before anyone asks, I don't write out anyone's accents; partially because I'm a touch typist and it takes forever to sit there and look at the keyboard to deliberately misspell words. Besides, we all know what they sound like. And has anyone noticed that in Evo, Remy does not speak in third person? The story's PG-13 for now; I will probably raise it later on.

This is AU. The world is aware of mutants but hasn't quite decided what to do with them yet. Remy LeBeau does not know Magneto or Sinister (he's not in this story anyway). And the last anyone has heard of the mutant known as Mystique was that she had died of unknown causes...

O-o-o-o-O

_A museum in New Orleans, the dead of night..._

Remy crouched quietly, waiting for the security guard to pass. Crawling through the vent hadn't been easy; but it was either that or go down the elevator shaft and he hated elevators. Ever since he was a child when he had been afraid he'd get stuck in one and be trapped. A completely irrational fear now, considering he could get out of almost anywhere, but that still didn't erase the residual dislike. So through the vent he had gone, and now here he was, crouched in the utilities closet while the guard outside the door picked his nose. A truly disgusting habit, and he would have pointed out to the guard that the whole point of boogies ending up in his nose was so that the germs in them didn't end up in his body so eating them rather defeated the purpose, but the whole point of him being in the utilities closet was so that the guard out there didn't know he was around, so Remy kept quiet.

Eventually the hygienically lacking guard finished his snack and moved on down the hall, turning a corner and going out of sight. Remy waited a couple of minutes to be safe then got up, sighing silently in relief. He needed to get moving; he didn't really feel like spending the entire night in this museum. He just wanted to get the painting and get out of there; Emil and Henri were on the roof waiting for him and he'd never hear the end of it if he took forever. Remy could just hear them now, going on about 'the prince of thieves losing his touch'. He snorted. As if. He'd show them who was losing their touch. He may love his cousin and brother but that wouldn't stop them from finding a charged card in their shorts. For now though, on to Matisse.

Remy rolled his eyes as he crept down the corridor at the thought of the collector who had decided he just had to have the painting he was going after tonight. It wasn't even Matisse's greatest work, he thought as he stood in front of the painting in question, but then Remy wasn't a huge fan of the man. He'd take Cezanne any day.

The whistling down the hall of his friend the boogey-eating guard from earlier told him he had better hurry. _Conard.(damn fool) You weren't supposed to come back this way for at least another ten minutes._ Either the info they had been given was wrong, or the guard was slacking off and not performing his entire rounds. Deciding it was safer to be paranoid than be sorry, he chose to believe the former. If they were wrong about that though, what else were they wrong about? Best not to hang around and find out.

He made quick work of the frame and soon had the painting rolled up and in his trench coat. Deciding to take the elevator shaft back to the roof after all, he went down a different corridor than he had come from previously then halted. _Hello, you weren't here before._

"Stop right there, thief", said the unseen before guard that was waiting for him in the corridor, gun drawn.

Remy smirked. "Normally excellent advice _mon ami_, but I think I'll have to ignore it this time." He did a little salute then turned and ran back the way he came. _What the fuck? There was only supposed to be the one guard on this floor. I've been set up!_

He heard the sound of gunfire from behind him as he ran but instead of just the normal pain that a bullet would have when it hit him, he also felt a slight numbing sensation go over his body. _Power suppressor. Someone told them I was a mutant. Bastards._ He could hear the sound of sirens approaching from outside. _Merde. Merde merde merde. Merde on toast. Merde on a shingle._ This was going wrong in so many ways it wasn't even funny. The elevator was out. It would take forever for him to crawl back up the ventilator shaft. The sirens had stopped now and he could hear voices outside. They were waiting for him outside so the front door was out. That left the window. He was on the third floor but he'd jumped from higher spots before.

Remy raced down the hall, faltering a little from the after effects of the power suppressor, but determined not to get caught. Eighteen years old and Jean-Luc LeBeau's star pupil, he'd never been arrested. He encountered the first guard from earlier, but not even bothering to take out his staff he just shoved the man out of the way with all his might and headed for a room at the end of the hall. There was a window there, he knew.

He opened the window, looked down at the pavement below and sighed. _All this for a fucking Matisse. Some people have no damned taste._ Hearing the approaching voices of the guards behind him, he climbed out the window and jumped, tucking up into himself and rolling as he hit the ground. _Oh this is going to hurt tomorrow. What am I saying? It hurts now._ He got up, and limping slightly, did his best to run. _Think I landed on that ankle wrong._ He ached now from the fall and the suppressor bullet in his shoulder. He had been set up and now risked getting caught all for a painting that in his opinion wouldn't get more than a second look at Christie's. _Bon Dieu, can anything else go wrong?_ He just hoped Henri and Emil had managed to escape. He rounded a corner and nearly collided with two policemen, guns drawn.

_Ask a stupid question Remy, get a stupid answer._

O-o-o-o-O

Remy sat in a cell at the police station, his cuffed hands forced out in front of him in something that resembled a smaller version of the stocks from Puritan days. The power suppressor hadn't faded yet, but the police weren't taking any chances. Either someone had done their homework, or they had been given good information. He leaned towards the latter.

A couple of hours later his _pere_ walked in, followed by one of the Guild lawyers. Jean-Luc LeBeau did not look happy at all. He took a look at the officer standing guard outside the cell. "Leave us alone for a minute. I need to talk to _mon fils_." The man gave them a wary look, but moved to the other end of the room, never taking his eyes off of them.

"Papa, I was set up. There was an extra guard and they knew I was a mutant." Remy was angry and disappointed. He had never been caught before; he felt like he had let his father down.

"Hush Remy, I know. We think it was the Assassins but we can't prove anything yet. Unfortunately the judge is in their pocket and he says you're a flight risk so he won't set bail; you'll have to stay here until the trial."

Remy was worried. He'd heard stories of what was done to mutants in prison. Trial. Such a heavy word. He couldn't believe this was happening. This wasn't supposed to happen, damnit. He was the fucking Prince of Thieves. He sighed. His shoulder and ankle were killing him. No one had bothered to look at his injuries, even though he had been walking with a limp when they took him in.

"Can't you get me out of here, Papa?"

"I'm sorry Remy, but you know things are uneasy with the Assassins right now. We can't afford to upset things before the wedding. Besides, we have no concrete proof it was them yet."

The wedding. Remy almost smiled. If there was a good thing coming out of the business of making peace with the Assassins, it was that. To end the centuries of fighting between the Thieves and the Assassins Guilds, Remy, as the guild-master's son, would marry Belladonna Boudreaux, daughter of the head assassin. Remy hadn't argued at all. He loved Belle; they had known each other for years and had been dating for quite awhile now. They hadn't set a firm date yet but it looked like it would be sometime this year. He sighed again. That was assuming he didn't have to get married from a prison cell, of course.

"I understand. Can't I at least get a shower and a band-aid? They did shoot me, you know."

Jean-Luc cursed under his breath. "Those idiots haven't even given you medical attention? Leave everything to me Remy." He stormed out of the room, a stream of French obscenities pouring from his mouth. Remy winced at a few of them; he'd never heard his father talk like that before.

An hour or so later, Remy was still in the cuffs but he had been taken out of the stocks and his wound had been attended to. He had been given a shot containing a stronger version of the power suppressor used in the bullet he was hit with earlier. He would be given this every night before bed to remove any chance of his charging anything during the night. During the day, they told him, he would be kept in the stocks as he needed his hands to activate his power. He hated the suppressor. It had the side effect of leaving the person slightly nauseous. Remy didn't know if he could stand this every night until his trial. How the hell was he supposed to sleep when his stomach was turning?

Sighing in aggravation, he turned on his side away from his injured shoulder and did his best to fall asleep.

O-o-o-o-O

AN: Sorry if this is a little short. This plot bunny has been nipping at my heels for ages and I had to let it out. I will probably update it somewhat infrequently until "Starting Today" is finished, then I'll devote more attention to it. Fear not, our Southern Belle will appear before too long, but this won't be a speedy romance.


	2. You want me to do what?

AN: Wow. I'm just completely stunned (and very flattered) at the response the first chapter of this has received. I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations with the rest of it. I don't own the X-Men, Thieves or Assassins Guilds, but I do own Remy's probation officer.  
  
I forgot to mention it in the first chapter, but Graydon Creed does not exist in this story.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Bored. Bored bored bored.  
  
Boredom was the new theme of Remy's life. There wasn't much a person could do with his hands held separated. He'd spent every day like this for the past couple of weeks since his arrest. His jailors were anti-mutant and refused to allow him to have his hands free. They were afraid he'd use his powers to escape. They were right of course, but they didn't need to know that. Oh, to just be able to twiddle his thumbs.  
  
Not being able to put his hands to use, and misery loving company, he of course had to make the people around him suffer as well. Remy had been gifted with a decent singing voice, and since his hands were out of commission, decided to put his vocal cords to work.  
  
_"J'etais au bal hier au soir, j'irai encor' ce soir, Si l'occasion se present', j'vais y r'tourner d'main soir............."_  
  
Not everyone appreciated his efforts though, and insults and rude comments were usually the result of his musical endeavors. That's okay though, as that was what Remy was going for. If he wasn't having any fun, he was going to make damn sure no one else was having any fun either. He hated the other prisoners anyway. A bunch of anti-mutant bigots for the most part, and those who weren't anti-mutant were just assholes on general principles.  
  
_"That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane, Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane listen to yourself churn........."_  
  
Remy tried to ignore their comments. He knew he was a sexy man; God's gift to women even. He didn't want to think what would happen if he ended up going to prison. He didn't see any possible way out of it though; he'd been caught red-handed. If he ever caught the bastard who set him up........ It had to be a setup. Remy had done the research on the job himself; observed the guards at night, everything. It was all shot to hell now though. Eighteen years old and he'd never even seen the inside of a jail cell before this, now he was facing a prison sentence. He knew it didn't look good. Being Jean-Luc LeBeau's son was one strike against him. The cops had been itching to get evidence on the Thieves' Guild for ages, and now they had it. Being a mutant was strike two against him. Mutants were barely tolerated, and when something went wrong they were quickly judged against. No clear legislation regarding the mutant issue left everything in a sort of limbo state that everyone was uneasy with. They weren't outlawed but they weren't protected either.  
  
_"When I get mad and I get pissed I grab my pen and I write out a list of all the people who won't be missed, you've made my shit list........."_  
  
Sitting around a jail cell with one's hands trapped gave a man plenty of time to think though. And think Remy did. He made lists in his mind of the things he'd do once he got out. The meals he'd have his Tante Mattie make him. The pranks he'd play on Emil and Henri. The naughty things he'd do to Belle (that was an especially long list). Such nice lists. He just hoped he would get out to do them. His trial was coming up soon, and one of the Guild lawyers was defending him, but he wasn't sure what kind of defense they were going to be able to come up with. Even with his considerable acting skills he'd have a hard time pleading innocent with a straight face.  
  
_Your last bit of luck's blown up in your face, Remy._  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
"What the hell were you thinking, boy?!" Marius Boudreaux was pissed. After years and years of hatred and bloodshed, his Guild and the Thieves were finally so close to achieving a peace that so many had thought impossible, just to be nearly blown out of the water. Marius had just found out that his son Julien was responsible for Remy LeBeau's arrest recently. He had leaked info to both the cops and the museum that the Thieves Guild were planning to hit the museum, and that the thief in question was a mutant.  
  
Julien scowled. "You know how I feel about this. I don't want no filthy mutant thief marrying my sister."  
  
"So you thought you'd get him arrested and get him out of the way?"  
  
"YES! Whatever it takes to keep him away from Bella."  
  
Marius mentally counted to ten and tried to remember that this was his son. Julien was a good boy, and a good Assassin, but if there were two weaknesses he had, it was his love for his sister, and his hatred for Remy LeBeau. There was a tiny part of Marius that suggested that the two might be connected, but he tried not to listen to that as it suggested things he didn't want to think about. Julien wanted the best for his sister, and was overprotective as a result.  
  
"Look, mon fils, I know you're not happy about this. It wouldn't have been my first choice for your sister either. But this is the first real chance we've had for peace in decades, and we can't afford to lose that. Unfortunately Jean-Luc isn't stupid. I'm sure he's figured out that we're behind Remy's arrest. He can't have proof though. We can still use this to our advantage, and come out ahead. We can't get Remy off completely, there's too much evidence against him, but we can offer Jean-Luc a deal to get his sentence reduced. I'm sure that he'd be quite willing to do anything to keep his _ mutant_ son out of the prison system." He turned and faced Julien. "As for you, leave Remy alone. If Jean-Luc doesn't have my head for this, then I won't have yours. But I won't have you sabotaging the peace we're trying to make. Pull anything like this again, and I won't be so understanding. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes Papa." Julien gritted his teeth. LeBeau. That fucking thief. He'd see him in Hell before allowing him to marry his sister. Peace or no peace, his father was a fool for promoting this marriage.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Jean-Luc came to visit a couple of days later, followed by the same lawyer that had come with him previously. Remy was allowed to just be in handcuffs for the visit, but had been given a power suppressor shot and so was feeling a little nauseous. He was thankful for the freedom of movement though and spent a lot of time rotating his wrists and doing little hand exercises to give the muscles a workout. He was a somewhat fidgety person by nature, and grew antsy if he couldn't be doing something almost constantly with his hands. When he sat down at the table with his father and the lawyer he amused himself by finally being able to twiddle his thumbs.  
  
"So what kind of news do you got for me, Papa?"  
  
"Well I talked to Marius and I still think they had something to do with your arrest, but I can't prove a damn thing. They own the judge who has your case, and while there's too much evidence against you to get away with being found innocent, they said if you plead guilty they can get the judge to reduce the sentence to something minimal, like community service, provided of course, that I make some concessions in the peace treaty."  
  
"What?! That sneaky little.........What kind of concessions?"  
  
"Nothing huge Remy, just a couple of pieces of property that the Assassins have had their eyes on for awhile. It's not a big loss to us, and I don't mind giving it up if it means keeping you out of jail."  
  
"I don't like this. This is all my fault; if I hadn't been caught............"  
  
"They were ready for you, Remy. There wasn't much more you could have done. Now you appear before the judge in a few days. I'll be back with some clothes for you. Is there anything else you need in the meantime?"  
  
"Oui, a cake with a file in it?"  
  
Jean-Luc just rolled his eyes.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Remy stood in front of the judge a few days later, clean and wearing a nice suit that his father had brought for him. With him was the ever-present Guild lawyer. Remy could never remember his name; Bourrais or something like that. If you've seen one lawyer you've seen them all anyway. Complete waste of oxygen in his opinion. Remy had pleaded guilty to all charges and was now awaiting the judge's ruling.  
  
"Remy Etienne LeBeau, having pleaded guilty to the charges of breaking and entering, larceny, and resisting arrest; I would normally assign you jail time. However as this is your first offense, I am giving you two years probation, and one year of community service, the fulfilling of which will be up to your probation officer. You will report to him two days from today." And with that the judge adjourned the court and left the room.  
  
Remy turned to his father, who was seated behind him. "A year of community service?"  
  
"Well it was a very valuable painting."  
  
Remy snorted.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
He came home that night to a joyful family. Tante Mattie, the woman who had practically raised him after his mother died, nearly squeezed the stuffing out of him with her hug. But he didn't mind. She had made his favorite dishes and everyone sat around the table and ate. Besides Remy and Mattie, there was Jean-Luc, Henri, Henri's wife Mercy, and Emil. Emil's parents had died a couple of years ago so Jean-Luc had taken him in to live with the rest of his family.  
  
Remy told everyone humorous stories about the other inmates at the jail; the cross-dresser two cells down who complained that he was in the wrong section of the prison and should really be with the women, the schizophrenic who kept arguing philosophy with himself and losing. He even told them about the boogey-eating guard at the museum. He didn't tell them about the threats though, the snide whispers that came in the middle of the night about what would happen to him if he ended up in prison. Those he would keep to himself.  
  
He was never so happy to crawl into his own bed before as he was that night. Free of the power suppressors, he fell asleep quickly and easily.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Two days later Remy sat in the office of his probation officer, waiting to hear what his duties would be. He glanced at the nameplate on the desk, and had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Charles Minou. His probation officer's last name was the French word for pussy, or cat. He thought about trying to bribe the man with catnip, but then decided it probably wouldn't go over too well.  
  
"Remy LeBeau."  
  
"That's my name, but only the femmes can wear it out."  
  
Minou didn't look amused. Some people have no sense of humor.  
  
"It is part of my job to make sure that you make yourself useful, to keep out of trouble and give back to the community for the trouble you caused. Since you are a mutant, it is only fitting that you work with other mutants, so I have picked this assignment for you. Monday you will report to the Azalea Lane Home for the Disabled."  
  
"What? You've got to be kidding me. What do I know about working with the handicapped?"  
  
Minou went on like he hadn't heard Remy. "You will be assigned to be the companion of one of the patients there, who is blind and also a mutant. Because of her mutation and other factors to do with her ummm....personality, the elders at the home would prefer that another mutant deal with her."  
  
Remy sighed. So it was this or jail, eh? Well, anything having to take those damn suppressor shots. "So what's this femme's name?"  
  
"Darkholme. Rogue Darkholme."  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Responses:  
  
Silver Ink: Yes, I know Remy loving Belle is disgraceful. But hey, nobody's perfect.  
  
Fissie: I think he would have liked a couple of brick walls. One to beat his head against, the rest to charge.  
  
Miya Reino: As you can see, the blind one is Rogue. Where Destiny is remains to be seen. Master Romy Chef? Me?   
  
Dreamschemer: Yes, I know, it seems weird. Trust me, it will all work out quite nicely in the end.  
  
Krac: I know. Those damn Assassins. Well, in this case Julien in particular. Go right ahead and comfort Remy, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.  
  
Ishy: I always did like the Matisse/Cezanne line, and was glad to finally have a chance to work it into a story. As you can see, it wasn't really the Assassins as a whole causing trouble, just stupid Julien. I don't know who's more against Remy and Belle, you or him. Strained romy, is that anything like strained peas?  
  
Aro: I don't know if crack bunnies are related to plot bunnies, but I don't have crack bunnies, I have Krac bunnies   
  
EvieGurl: Yep, it's Rogue, and yes she really is blind. I don't think being blind is something that can be absorbed.  
  
Wiccamage: I know you're wary hon but trust me. Have I steered you wrong yet?  
  
To everyone else: Thank you SO much for your reviews. You've made me feel really good about this story and I'm looking forward to writing more of it for you. 


	3. One Dark Day to the Next

AN: There was a disclaimer, but it ran into Julien on the way home and met with foul play. Damn Assassins.  
  
And now, because I'm feeling slightly sadistic...........  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny just for Remy, or so he liked to think. The weekend was his to do with as he liked. Since his stay as a guest of the local law enforcement, his pere felt it best that he lay low for awhile, so no more jobs for a couple of weeks until things die down. That was just fine with Remy. He could use a vacation. Well, at least it would have been a vacation if not for his little _assignment_ on Monday. Merde, what the hell were they thinking, making him help a blind femme? Sure, he knew plenty about femmes, but more in the romancing department, not the helping department. And somehow he doubted that she needed romancing. He certainly didn't know anything about blind people either. He wondered what it was about her mutation and personality that drove the home she lived in to seek another mutant to keep her company. Maybe she was an ugly spinster with blue fur, green scales and a bad temper. If that was the case then maybe it was a blessing she was blind so she wouldn't have to see herself in the mirror. That had to be the case; what kind of person named their child Rogue anyway?  
  
Remy crawled out of bed and got dressed; time and Tante Mattie's breakfast waited for no man. He got downstairs just as she was starting to set the table. "You just in time boy. Finish setting this table; I need to fix these eggs." She didn't bother waiting for answer; she just turned around and went to the stove.  
  
"Oui, Tante." He was used to that. You didn't argue with Mattie. He finished setting the table and helped her lay out breakfast as the rest of the family came downstairs. Everyone was discussing their plans for the day as they ate. Henri was working. Emil was going fishing with some friends. Mercy planned to go shopping. Coming from a family of thieves, Remy really didn't understand the need to shop when you could just steal what you need. Mercy said it was a girl thing and that Remy would never get it.  
  
Jean-Luc spoke up at this point. "And what are you doing today my boy?"  
  
Remy smiled. "Belle is coming over later. I haven't seen her in ages." The last time he had seen her was a couple of days before his arrest, actually. The list he had created in jail was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't wait to go over it with her. He didn't think she'd mind. He'd make it very worth her while.  
  
His father rolled his eyes. "Just remember Remy, I don't want any grandchildren until _ after_ the wedding."  
  
Remy smirked. "Oui Papa."  
  
Mercy helped clear the table and did the dishes while the others went about their business. Remy went to the library to read while he waited for Belle. He and Henri had never had a formal education, but they had been home schooled and Jean-Luc still expected Remy to keep up his reading. Currently he was reading "Pride and Prejudice". He found himself liking Elizabeth Bennett. Now here was a femme he could see himself falling for. Her fire and wit reminded him a bit of Belle.  
  
A couple of hours later he heard the doorbell ring. He almost raced to the door but Mattie beat him to it. "What you want here, child?" The harsh words were softened by the little smile on the woman's face.  
  
Beyond Mattie's head Remy could see familiar blonde curls. "I'm here to see my favorite thief, Tante."  
  
"Girl, he's the only thief you like."  
  
"Oui, so of course he's my favorite. S'il vous plait may I come in?"  
  
Mattie smirked. "Oh I suppose. Just don't kill anyone while you're here." She was the only one who could get away with making that kind of joke.  
  
Belle grinned. "I'll try not to. Remy makes it hard sometimes though." She walked in and gave Mattie a hug. The older woman nodded. "Don't I know it." She shook her head and walked off.  
  
The man in question stood off to the side, a pout on his face. "These femmes, they don't even wait until I'm out of the room before talking bad about me."  
  
"You need to hear the truth about yourself sometimes Rem, helps deflate that big head you get." Belle walked up to him and snaked her arms around his waist. Remy couldn't pretend to be mad at her and bent his head down to kiss her, lacing his fingers through her hair. Coming up for air, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "I missed you chere. Jail is a very lonely place. I had a lot of time to think of many things." He whispered a couple of the naughtier things from his list into her ear, and she giggled. He released her, just keeping hold of her hand, and led her upstairs to his room. Remy collapsed into a chair by the window while Belle sat on the bed. Lighting a cigarette, he blew the smoke out the window and sighed.  
  
"Was it really that bad then, jail?"  
  
And he told her. About the stocks to separate his hands, the power suppressor and the nausea it caused; his cellmates and how he tortured them by constantly singing. He also told her what he couldn't tell his family, the whispers about what would happen to a mutant in prison, especially one as pretty as he was. After all, this girl was going to be his wife. If he couldn't talk to her about it, who could he talk to?  
  
Remy finished his cigarette while Belle sat on the bed in silence, looking saddened by what he had gone through. He got up and joined her, laying his head on her lap and she stroked his hair. "My poor Remy. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But it's over now. I heard your sentence was reduced to community service. Do you know what your work will be yet?"  
  
Remy didn't say anything for a moment. Despite the lack of proof, he still believed that the Assassins had something to do with his arrest. Not Belle herself, she wanted this marriage as much as he did, but he couldn't say the same for the rest of her family; especially that psychotic brother of hers. Julien. Something about that homme just gave him the creeps. The way he looked at Belle sometimes..........  
  
He shook his head and tried to erase his thoughts. "Oui, you won't believe this, but they want me to be a companion to a blind femme. A blind mutant femme at that."  
  
Belle laughed. "You? Help a blind person? What were they thinking?"  
  
"That's what I said too. But they said that they wanted another mutant to handle her, so starting Monday I'll be Remy LeBeau, Seeing Eye Homme."  
  
"Well at least I won't have to worry about her falling in love with you."  
  
"I'm wounded chere, is that all you think I am, a pretty face?" His voice sounded teasing, but inside he really was hurt. All his life he'd been told how beautiful he was, how handsome. Girls loved his looks, his charm but never really looked any deeper. It made him wonder sometimes if there was anything more to him than his face.  
  
Belle pouted and kissed him. "Of course not Rem, you're a wonderful man; with or without the face." She kissed him again and he responded, determined to drive away the loneliness he'd been feeling, but a tiny pain remained in his heart.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
_Azalea Lane Home for the Disabled_  
  
Room 33 was at the end of the corridor of the women's wing, the door almost sitting by itself in the hall. Opening the door a person would find a room almost military in its neatness. A bed stood against the wall, neatly made. A desk, empty except for a small stereo and rack of CD's, all neatly organized. A bureau and rocking chair were the only other furniture in the room. There were no pictures or posters on the walls. There was no need for any, as the occupant couldn't see them anyway. During her 17 years on this earth, the last seven of them had been sightless. Ever since that car accident, the one time she had gone without a seat belt, had damaged something in her brain; every day had been dark. They couldn't operate without risk of further brain damage, the doctors said, so they had given her a cane, the numbers for schools for the blind and sent her on her way. Irene had later changed the cane for one of adamantium; a girl sometimes needed to protect herself, she said. Irene had done so much for her over the years, even given her a name when her own mother had died before being able to do that much. She would be a little loner, Irene had said, and so had named her appropriately.  
  
Rogue.  
  
Her mother's name had been Raven, and Irene had been her best friend. When Raven knew she wouldn't survive Rogue's birth, she asked Irene to take care of her daughter, and Irene agreed. She brought Rogue up in a little house in Mississippi, and they were happy there. She wouldn't say why, but she gave Rogue Raven's last name, Darkholme, and said that it was important she keep that name. Rogue never questioned her on it. Irene was a mutant, one who could see the future, and she had learned it was better sometimes just to accept the advice she was given than to question what was going to happen. Her mother had been a mutant too, a shape shifter. She imagined that would be a wonderful gift to have, to be able to change one's shape. She envisioned herself turning into a cat, or into a large bird and flying through the sky. Irene had shown her a picture of her mother once and she thought she was beautiful, in an exotic way; blue skin with red hair. How she wished she could have known her. She loved Irene though, and they had had a good life together.  
  
Rogue sat in her rocking chair, sightless eyes focused on nothing. How things change. Everything seemed to go wrong after that accident. Just a ride with some friends to a party, a wrong turn and before she knew it Rogue was going through the windshield. Blindness at ten years old was a nightmare but she could adjust; Irene was blind also and they could help each other. The next couple of years weren't easy but they got through them together. Irene hired tutors and Rogue learned Braille, eventually catching up in her studies. In time she became as much of a bookworm as she had ever been. She learned how to take care of herself and be as independent as possible.  
  
Everything changed after she turned fifteen.  
  
One of Rogue's best friends was Cody. They had played together for years, long before her accident; and he didn't care that she couldn't see anymore, he still treated her the same as before. One day they were sitting on the riverbank when Cody surprised her by leaning over and kissing her. He had never done anything like that before. She enjoyed it for a moment, this was her first kiss after all; then all of a sudden she started to feel weird. A strange sensation started in her mind, almost like something being pulled, and all these foreign thoughts and feelings began to flood her brain. She began to actually see things, memories, images; things that couldn't possibly be hers. She pushed Cody away in a panic and heard a thud as he fell over. She called out to him but he didn't answer. She reached for him, her hand brushing his. The pull started again and she hastily withdrew in terror. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. She grabbed her cane and started calling for help.  
  
Something had gone wrong that day. Irene explained to her that she was a mutant, that her power was to absorb the life force, memories and powers of others through skin to skin contact. So now could she not only not see, but she also could not touch. Joy to the world. Imagine being a blind person. Now imagine being a blind person who has to wear gloves. Welcome to Rogue's personal hell. The fun didn't stop there though.  
  
Around the same time that Rogue's power manifested, Irene was having these headaches. Actually she had been having them for a while, it was just now that they were starting to get unbearable. She went to the doctor and after some testing it was determined that she had a brain tumor. The doctors in Caldecott said that the best treatment for Irene's condition could be found in New Orleans so she decided that she and Rogue would pack up and move south. This was also a good idea since Cody was in a coma from Rogue's powers and his family was not too happy with the girl right now.  
  
So Irene and Rogue packed up their belongings and moved along with Carla, Irene's housekeeper. They managed to find a quiet little house not too far from the hospital where Irene would be having her treatments, and Irene hired a tutor to continue Rogue's studies so she wouldn't fall behind. Things didn't go well though. The treatments weren't working; the tumor grew worse and Irene eventually had to be admitted to the hospital full time. Rogue came to visit as often as the hospital would let her. The doctors tried to sound positive but she could tell they were lying. Irene was going to die.  
  
She was sixteen when her foster mother passed away. She was laid to rest in a local cemetery, as there wasn't anyone to take her back to Caldecott. Since Rogue had no known family, she was made a ward of the state and placed in a state home because of her handicap. She was available for adoption but it was highly unlikely that anyone would take her because of her handicap and her being a mutant. Once she turned eighteen she would be free to leave here but she wasn't sure what she would do with herself. She had no friends. Irene was dead. Carla had taken another job after Irene passed away. She was a person deprived of two of her senses; what COULD she do with herself? She felt like a burden more than anything.  
  
The people here weren't much help. After a couple of accidents when she first got here, most stayed away from her and few talked to her other than what was necessary, usually to tell her to make sure she kept her gloves on. Bunch of ignorant twits. She had tried to be nice at first but now got her kicks freaking them out. She refused to wear sunglasses as she knew people found the sight of a blind person's eyes uncomfortable. Having people trip over her cane was fun too.  
  
A knock came at her door. The person opened it without waiting for her to answer. "Rogue...." They paused. It was Candace, from the main office. "You know you're not supposed to have your gloves off."  
  
Rogue sighed. She had a stuffed cat in her lap and had been stroking it with her bare hands. After wearing gloves all the time, it was nice to feel something other than leather with her hands once in a while. "Sorry Candace, but I figured I'd be safe with just me in here, you know? Anyway, what do you want?"  
  
The woman continued. "I suppose it's alright this time. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we've found you a new companion. His name is Remy and you'll meet him on Monday. Please try to be nice this time, okay?"  
  
Rogue snorted. "If you stop sending me idiots I'll stop treating them like idiots."  
  
"They're not idiots Rogue. You need to change your attitude. Lunch is in half an hour." Rogue heard the door close as Candace left. She groaned in frustration. They'd been trying to set her up with companions for the last few months, in some halfhearted attempt to show the state that they were trying to help all the people in their care. So far the people they'd chosen for her had fallen straight off the Good Ship Lollypop; perky idiots who made her want to scream. She made it her mission in life to drive them crazy. It was amazing what you can get away with when you're blind. An innocent look becomes even more innocent when it's behind a pair of dark glasses and a cane.  
  
So they were sending her a new one, eh? That's okay, she would soon send him packing, just like the rest.  
  
O-o-o-o-O  
  
Responses:  
  
Melancholic: Yep, her powers are the same. Sucks, doesn't it?  
  
Fissie: Sorry that went fast. Flashbacks are a good thing though. I don't think Remy's going to do so well either.......  
  
Aro: I liked the valuable painting bit too. Especially since Remy obviously didn't agree.  
  
Krac: Julien's a twisted little shit. But then again that's probably why you like him, eh? He won't get his comeuppance for a while. I still need him yet.  
  
Cheesy Monkey: Considering you're not a Rogue/Remy fan, I'm very flattered that you like my story. Rogue's real mother is Mystique, and if you bear with me, you will have Kurti later on in the story.  
  
Ishy: Apparently, my dear, you missed the part where I said that Remy was gifted with a decent singing voice. I wasn't insulted his voice this time, just his choice in material and the fact that he wouldn't stop. Rogue does still have her same powers, as you can see, she just happens to be blind. As for being goth, well, this is AU, so she can't do the makeup. No goth clothes right now but that might change. Besides, goth isn't just clothes or makeup, it's also a state of mind.  
  
Evosmylife: Damn, girl, you make me blush. Yes, I know it's horrible that Remy loves Belle, but then again he hasn't met Rogue yet and everyone has a first love, even if it is a mistake. The X-Men and Institute will be showing up later, just not for a while. I've got a bit of plot I need to get through first.  
  
Panther Nesmith: I will agree that Belle is psycho, LOL  
  
EvieGurl: Yep, Rogue actually is her name in this story. I didn't feel like dealing with any other names.  
  
Shockgoddess: Nope, Remy was singing R.E.M. in English. (I don't know what that French song was, Fissie gave it to me) 


	4. A Swamp Rat vs a Blind Mouse

AN: I got a new disclaimer, but Rogue tripped it with her cane.

O-o-o-o-O

Monday morning. Rogue sat in her rocking chair, moving back and forth to the beat of Tori Amos's "Cornflake Girl" cranked on the stereo. Tori's fingers were thunder on the piano keys, her voice so sweet and sharp striking a chord inside the girl. Rogue sang along, her own voice ringing out clear and strong on the chorus.

_..this is not really happening...this is not really happening...you bet your life it is..._

Rogue loved to sing. Irene had always said that she had a beautiful voice, and their little home had often been full of music. She had an extensive CD collection, all carefully labeled in Braille. Music created random images in her head since nothing else did anymore and was what kept her from going crazy these days, though some would argue that it was already too late. She couldn't bear too much silence, and had to have music around her to keep her company, since human company seemed to be denied her. She sang along now to keep from screaming when the pain got to be too much. She had done a lot of screaming at first, when she came to the home, but she soon discovered that all it got her was a sore throat and the attendants drugging her to keep her quiet. So she stopped screaming. But it didn't stop everything from hurting. Irene's death, the isolation caused by her blindness and mutation, the fact that she was now alone in the world. The music helped take the pain away a little. Pouring her heart out to a melody felt much better than screaming. And it didn't leave her with a sore throat afterwards either.

She'd already eaten breakfast, her food laid out on the tray for her in a very orderly fashion so that she could find it, the same way it was every day. Mealtimes were some of the rare occasions that she was allowed to remove her gloves. She sat by herself, partially so that she wouldn't accidentally touch anyone while eating, and partially because no one else wanted to sit with her. It made her feel better and worse at the same time to go to the cafeteria. Better in that she could hear the voices of the others around her and so she knew that she wasn't really alone; and worse in that she knew that those people she heard feared her and didn't want anything to do with her. It was usually a relief to go back to her room after every meal; there she could be alone with her music and her few stuffed animals. She'd be safe.

Her days were so empty now. They never used to be that way. When Irene was alive she had always had things to do. You wouldn't think that two blind women would be very active, but they were. They attended concerts and special art exhibits for the blind, and Irene even had Rogue learn judo! She had felt that a girl should learn to defend herself, and being blind made it even more important. It hadn't been easy, but Rogue eventually got very good at it and impressed her teacher. They took yoga classes together and Rogue had happy memories of afternoon meditation sessions with her foster mother.

Doing activities here just wasn't the same. She had books, but she wasn't allowed to read them since it would involve taking her gloves off, so her 'companions' would often read to her, which she found very annoying. There were arts and crafts classes, but have you ever tried working with clay while wearing latex gloves? It's a disaster! The facility had a pool, and Rogue knew how to swim, but the first and only time she brought it up Candace nearly had a heart attack so she didn't even bother mentioning the special bodystocking she used for swimming.

The only time she got out was when she was taken on walks. Taken on walks, like she was a dog. 'Yes, it's time to walk the Rogue now'. That's what it felt like to her anyway. The companions that went with her usually acted like she couldn't hear or that her cane didn't work. 'Watch out for those people coming Rogue. Watch out for that trashcan.' Things she was perfectly capable of discovering and avoiding on her own. She usually showed her annoyance by letting her cane "accidentally" discover her companion's leg. Adamantium can leave quite a bruise, or so she's heard. She had gotten the cane when she was thirteen. It was given to her by a friend of Irene's who came to visit once. He didn't stay long, just enough to talk to Irene for a while and leave the cane. She wouldn't tell Rogue his name at the time, just that he was a friend of hers and had been a friend of her mother's, and he had wanted to give Rogue a present. He worked for the government and had been able to get hold of a very special metal called adamantium. It was indestructible and that was what her new cane was made out of. If she ever needed to, Rogue could use it to defend herself. She couldn't tell anyone about it though, because adamantium was a very rare, valuable metal, and people would ask questions if they knew she had it. So Rogue had never told, but she did have fun with her special cane.

"Cornflake Girl" ended and "Little Earthquakes" came on.

_give me life give me pain give me myself again..._

Ohhhh, how she wanted life again. Her life, her old life; fun and family and love. This, this wasn't life. This was a car stuck in neutral, and she didn't know how to drive. Clutching the arms of the chair, she rocked a little harder. Her new 'companion' was coming today; soon actually. She didn't care, let him think she was crazy. Remy. What the hell kind of name was Remy, anyway? Maybe his parents were alcoholics. Rogue snorted and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. She didn't expect him to be any different from the others though. Bunch of idiots, all spouting sunshine but at the same time afraid to come anywhere near her. She hadn't been used to people being afraid of her before coming here. Irene and Carla had known about her mutation and had taken sensible precautions to avoid contact, but other than that they treated her as normal. It was these twits that didn't seem to understand that she wasn't about to go around grabbing them bare handed. She preferred to keep her mind to herself. She supposed that if the new guy was the same as the others that she'd treat him in the same way. Drive him up a wall, give him a few bruises if she needed to, and send him screaming in the other direction.

"Little Earthquakes" had changed to "Spark" when a knock came on the door.

"Come in!" she called out over the music.

_Here we go..._

O-o-o-o-O

_He lay on his back on the cot in his cell; he preferred to sleep on his side but that was hard to do when your hands were cuffed together. Sleep was hard to come by tonight though. Phillips, the schizo next door who normally argued philosophy, was singing about them instead._

_'Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable...'_

_'Like you should talk, mon ami' Remy thought to himself. He figured he figured he shouldn't be surprised that the crazy klepto was also a Monty Python fan. If the man wasn't insane, he could probably make something of himself. It took brains to appreciate Python. Intelligent or not though, Remy just wished he'd shut up so the rest of them could sleep. Remy himself had a habit of annoying people, but even he gave it a rest at bedtime. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and shouted. "Shut the fuck up you fou bastard!"_

_There was silence for a moment, then the sound of scattered applause and catcalls from the other cells. Phillips said nothing, and Remy closed his eyes in relief, thinking that now he could finally get some sleep. It was hard enough as it was with the handcuffs and the nausea from the power suppressor he was given every night, he didn't need crazy men serenading him. A footstep inside his cell startled him and he opened his eyes to see Phillips standing next to his cot, looking down at him with his crazy brown eyes. Remy was confused, to say the least._

_"How the hell did you get in here?"_

_Phillips smiled, but it gave Remy no comfort. "Does it really matter? I'm here now. I'm sorry you didn't like my singing, LeBeau. Yours was so nice earlier that I thought I'd return the favor. It makes the voices quiet also and things are so much nicer when they're quiet, don't you agree?"_

_Remy was feeling rather ill at ease by this point and he wasn't sure what else to do, so he just nodded dumbly._

_"I thought you'd agree. Didn't I tell you he'd agree?" He asked the air, then seemed to nod positively at whatever response he got._

_"But now I can't sing and they're talking to me and it's so unquiet and it makes things so very unhappy for me so I just have to find some other way to make things quiet again." He paused, and bending slightly, ran a finger through Remy's hair. The younger man squirmed uncomfortably and tried to avoid him, but found himself barely able to move. He was starting to panic now. Something was definitely not right here._

_"You're such a pretty boy; those eyes, that face. I bet the girls just go crazy over you. Prince of the Thieves' Guild, aren't you? And a mutant to boot. You'll go away for a long time. They'll just love you in prison, pretty one. You won't be so pretty anymore after a couple of years. A shame, that." The finger moved from Remy's hair down the side of his face, and he flinched in shame and anger. A drop of sweat ran down Remy's face, and Phillips wiped it off with his finger, then brought it up to his mouth and licked it._

_"Delicious", he whispered._

_Remy couldn't take it anymore. "Get the hell out of here, you sick piece of shit!"_

_Phillips shook his head and made clucking noises. "Now now, such nasty words coming from such a pretty mouth. Didn't your momma raise you better than that?" He didn't wait for an answer, and smacked Remy hard across the face. He cocked his head, as if listening to something, then nodded. "Yes, I agree. He would be just the thing to make things quiet again. Don't you agree?", he asked Remy. "You don't have to answer. It's perfectly clear to me that you are just the thing. Now just lie still and soon everything will be all better."_

_Phillips' hands moved to Remy's sleeping shorts and he wanted to scream, alert the guards, alert SOMEONE because this just could not be happening, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out..._

Remy sat up in his bed, short of breath, heart pounding, the alarm clock on the nightstand buzzing relentlessly. He smacked it hard and just barely refrained from charging it. His _pere_ got pissed off when he blew up his alarm clocks.

_Just a dream Remy, it was just a dream. It never happened._

He was convinced that the mind was a person's own worst enemy, because when you were sleeping it would take the whispers and taunts that you had heard during the day and twist them into a nightmare. He laid back down and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to get his breathing back under control. That had been awful. It wasn't the first nightmare he had had since his release from jail, but so far it was the worst. He had felt so helpless; he never wanted to feel that way again. He just had to remember that it was just a dream though. For now he needed to get up...and he remembered why he had the alarm clock set.

Monday.

Time to start his "community service".

Yeah right, some service he'd be. He could see it now; Remy LeBeau, thief and skirt chaser extraordinaire, helping little blind girls across the street. He hoped he didn't run into anyone he knew while out with his charge, he'd be the laughingstock of New Orleans. He sighed and got up; he might as well get this over with. Tossing his favorite trench coat over a black t-shirt and jeans, he went downstairs to find Tante Mattie in the kitchen eating breakfast. She looked up from the newspaper she was reading.

"There's pancakes on the stove. You're up early, boy."

"_Oui_, Tante. I start my assignment today." Remy grabbed a plate and helped himself to pancakes and a cup of coffee. He joined Mattie at the table and dug the funnies out of the newspaper. She swatted at his hand for messing with her paper.

"Hmm. And you're going like that?" She commented with a disapproving frown.

Remy shrugged. "It's not like the _fille_ can see me anyway."

Mattie shook her head and went back to reading her paper. Breakfast passed in silence until Remy finished eating and placed his dirty dishes in the sink. Then he went over to Mattie and kissed her cheek. "_Au revoir_ Tante, I'll see you later."

Mattie looked up from her paper. "Alright boy. You behave now, and be nice to that girl."

Remy pasted his most innocent look on his face. "Tante, you wound me. I'm always nice to the _femmes_."

The older woman snorted. "Don't play that on me, boy. I know you. You're there to help her, not sweet-talk her. Now go on, get out of here."

Remy grinned. "Yes Tante." And headed out the door.

O-o-o-o-O

The Azalea Lane Home for the Disabled was in a completely different section of town from Remy's home in the Garden District, and it took him about half an hour to get there with the morning traffic. He parked his motorcycle outside and was shown to the office of a slightly frumpy-looking blonde woman in her forties who introduced herself as Candace Gillespie and said she was in charge of Rogue's progress here at the home. She smiled becomingly as she showed him to a seat and adjusted her hair.

"I'm quite happy to see you here Mr. LeBeau. Rogue is quite a handful and it would be nice to finally have someone who could actually deal with her for a change."

Remy settled into his seat. "Please, call me Remy. I'm not sure why you think I can deal with her. I don't have any experience working with blind people."

Candace had the grace to look a little uneasy. "Well, it's not so much her blindness; we do have other blind people here, it's her mutation. That combined with her temper make her hard to deal with and we're just not prepared to handle it."

Remy had figured as much, but as unhappy as he was with the situation he decided not to make it easy on her so he wanted her to spit it out. "What it is the _fille's_ mutation anyway?"

"Well, the best we can figure is, that she absorbs people's life force when she comes in contact with their skin. It leaves her completely incapable of touch of course, so we have to make sure that she is covered at all times, for the others' protection."

Ouch. Whatever Remy had been expecting, it wasn't that. Blind and deprived of touch, he wasn't surprised she had a bad temper. He would too.

"Doesn't she have any family? I mean, if you people can't take care of her, why is she here?"

Candace shrugged sympathetically. "She's a ward of the state. From what we can tell she's an orphan. Mother died in childbirth, and no one knows who the father was. She was raised by a friend of the mother, but she died of cancer almost a year ago. No other family came forward, so the state stepped in. "

They talked for several more minutes to go over some paperwork they needed to fill out for the court, and then Candace took Remy on a tour of the facility. Their last stop was the women's wing, Room 33. Remy could hear music coming from the other side of the door. Candace knocked loudly and a Southern accented voice called out. "Come in!"

Candace opened the door and she and Remy stepped in. He looked around. It was very plain and neat, almost nothing to it, really. He wasn't surprised. Who was there to look at anything in it, anyway? A woman on the stereo was singing about being addicted to nicotine patches, and a girl in a rocking chair was rocking in time to the music. She was plainly dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, with black gloves covering her hands. She had neck- length auburn hair with white bangs falling slightly into her face; the unusual color combination was quite becoming. She was quite becoming, in fact Remy would go so far as to say she was rather lovely. Unlike most blind people he had seen, she wasn't wearing sunglasses, and he was able to see her eyes. Sightless and slightly clouded as they were, he could still see that they were a lovely green color and he felt somewhat saddened that such pretty things were about as useful to her as marbles in her head, pretty green marbles. He was interrupted from his musings when Candace spoke.

"Rogue, can you turn your music down please?"

The girl sighed and picked up a remote control that had been lying in her lap, and turned the volume on the stereo down.

"What do you want Candace, and who's that with you?"

Remy was surprised. He was normally a rather quiet person, and people didn't usually hear him unless he wanted them to. Then again he had heard that losing one sense caused others to sharpen. Apparently this _fille_ had excellent hearing.

"This is Remy LeBeau, and he's going to be your new companion. He's another mutant, like you. Hopefully you two will get along. Do try to be nice to him Rogue." She turned to Remy. "Lunch is at noon, in the cafeteria; she's allowed to take her gloves off then. Let me know if you have any problems." And with that Candace practically scurried out of the room.

Remy just stood there for a moment. He wasn't really sure what to do now. He shifted from one foot to the other and Rogue turned her head in his direction.

"Well, are you a mute? It wouldn't surprise me if they gave me a mute for a companion. God's got a sick sense of humor, after all."

"_Non_, I'm not a mute. Just trying to decide what to say. I'm kind of new at this companion business."

Rogue smirked. "Well what do you know? He CAN talk! He's not a mute after all; he's a Swamp Rat. And what do you mean you're new at this? Could it be they've decided to stop giving me professionals?"

Remy decided he was tired of standing and went to flop down on Rogue's bed. She heard him and looked annoyed.

"Hey! Did I say you could sit on my bed?"

"_Non_, but since you weren't polite enough to ask me if I wanted to sit down, I decided to invite myself. Besides, there isn't anywhere else to sit."

"I can't help that. I don't get any visitors."

"I wonder why." Remy mumbled to himself.

Rogue scowled. "I heard that."

"Good."

Rogue glared in his direction and went back to rocking her chair. Remy wondered how a blind _fille_ managed to pull off a glare like that. She picked up the remote and turned the volume back up on the music. It seemed to calm her down a bit and she began singing along to the music.

_you say you don't want it again and again but you don't really mean it you say you don't want it this circus we're in but you don't you don't really mean it..._

"Who are you listening to?" Remy asked. She had a beautiful voice.

Rogue stopped singing. "Tori Amos." She answered.

Remy shrugged, then remembered that she couldn't see him. "Oh, never heard of her."

She shook her head in mock sadness. "You need to expand your musical horizons, Swamp Rat." She got up and made her way to the desk, where she pulled a pack of gum out of a drawer. She turned towards the bed. "Do you want a piece?"

"_Oui, merci_." She took a piece out of the pack and held it out with her gloved fingers. He took it from her and sat back down on the bed. She took a piece for herself, put the pack back in the drawer and sat back down in the rocking chair. She moved around the room very comfortably. Remy thought he shouldn't be surprised. She probably had the entire room memorized.

"So", she said once she was settled back in her chair. "You're not a professional at working with the blind. That's obvious since you're not trying to blow sunshine up my ass. So what do you do?"

Remy debated here for a moment. He could lie, but then Rogue could probably get the truth very easily from Candace, so he might as well be honest.

"Well, I'm a thief; I got caught trying to rob an art museum, and this is my community service."

Rogue started laughing, which wasn't quite the reaction he had expected. Offense at having been paired with a criminal, maybe. A little fear of him since he was a criminal, maybe. But not laughter. Remy was starting to feel a little offended.

"What's so funny, _chere_?"

Rogue stopped laughing. "You. I guess you're not a very good thief then, are you?" She was very pretty when she laughed. Too bad it was at his expense.

"Hmph. I happen to be a very good thief. I was just set up, that's all. They knew I was coming."

Rogue rolled her pretty, sightless eyes. "Suurrrre. That's what they all say."

"It's true, I swear! If those guards hadn't come along I could have been out of there in no time at all."

"Yes, yes, I believe you." The look on her face said otherwise though. Remy never realized that a blind person's face could be so expressive. It wasn't like they could practice in front of a mirror or anything.

"Candace said you were a mutant too. I've never met any other mutants besides Irene before. What can you do?"

"Well I can charge inanimate objects. Make them blow up."

Rogue looked impressed. "Now that sounds look a cool power to have. I wouldn't mind being able to blow things up. A lot better than mine. I'm assuming Candace warned you about my power already?" She looked slightly bitter at this.

"_Oui_, she did. I've got to say you have my sympathies on that one. That can't be an easy power to live with."

"I don't want your damn sympathy." Rogue snarled, her hands tightening on the arms of the chair.

"Then what do you want, Rogue?"

"Nothing that you can give me, Swamp Rat."

Remy sighed. He could imagine what she wanted. It's what he would want if he were in her shoes. His sight back, his mutation gone. And she was right, he couldn't give that to her.

"I'm sorry, _chere_."

"You're sorry, I'm sorry, everybody's sorry. Doesn't do me much good, does it?"

"Look, it's a nice day out; let's get out of here for awhile. You want to take a walk?"

Rogue smirked. "This is the way we walk the Rogue." She said in a little sing song voice.

Remy groaned. He really didn't want to be here, doing this. "Knock it off, okay? Let's just go."

She sighed. "Fine." Getting up, she grabbed her cane from where it was leaning against the wall next to the chair and made her way to the door.

"Wait Rogue, aren't you going to put on a pair of sunglasses before we go?"

She paused at the door. "No. I don't have a problem with how my eyes look. Do you?"

Remy was taken aback at this. "No, I guess not. I thought it was customary for the blind to wear them though."

"No, people will do it if they want to save others the discomfort of seeing their eyes. I however, don't care if people get uncomfortable looking at me. Now are we going or not?"

Remy gave up. "_Oui_, we are."

"Good." She opened the door and didn't start using her cane until she was out into the hall. He was going to take her arm but when his hand touched her sleeve she flinched.

"Sorry, I'm not...used to people touching me."

"It's okay, I'm sorry for startling you. I was just going to take your arm."

Her lip curled a little in disdain. "Look Swamp Rat, I don't need you to escort me. I do just fine with my cane. Just keep your hands to yourself, got it?"

"_Desole chere, desole_."

"Good."

A minor truce reached, they walked out of the building and into the morning sunshine.

O-o-o-o-O

Responses:

Melancholic: Longer chapters, working on it. And yeah, Remy's still with Belle. You'll have to live with it, because he'll be with her for a while longer (I warned you guys in the beginning that this wouldn't be a speedy romance)

Fissie: No Remy/Belle mush in this chapter, but there will be again. I'm such a sadist.

Silver Ink: NO! I will not give you my brain!

Jean1: I can understand the point you make about Remy and his views about commenting on people's looks, however in this particular case he was really resenting his situation and not reacting in a mature manner.

TheRealMai: Glad you're enjoying the story. Belle's hair on fire? I don't know if I can promise that, but I'm sure I can have something nasty happen to her.

Shockgoddess: Yeah, it does suck, doesn't it? Double whammy. Glad you liked the chapter.

Lady Farevay: Thank you so much for the lovely review. Yes, there will be Kurt and X-Men later (much later, I like long stories, if you haven't noticed already). I'm very, very flattered that you consider me in the same class as Seven Sunningdale; she's my favorite author on this site.

Krac: You want Julien? You can go right ahead and have him. (I don't think anyone else wants him.) Yes you are a sick, twisted individual. But considering I can write lovey-dovey Remy/Belle mush, what does that say about how sick and twisted I am?

Evosmylife: Yep! I'm evil. I said in the last chapter that I was feeling sadistic. Heh heh heh. Well the feeling hasn't ended. Regarding Julien, I'm not the only one who painted him as an incestuous freak. From what I understand the comics suggested it as well.

Weaponx61: Remy breaking up with Belle? All good things come to those who wait, my dear.

UniversalAnimeGirl: Yes, I am sadistic. And I enjoy it. And so do the rest of you, otherwise you wouldn't keep reading my stuff, would you? Heh heh heh. Well, I've explained a little about the adamantium cane, but exactly who it was that gave it to her will come later. Thank you for giving me some ideas, by the way.

Ishy: Thank you, I loved the comment about not having the blind person fall in love with Remy myself. I don't know why you're saying yay sadism, because the sadism was the Remy/Belle fluff, which there will be more of, by the way. Heh heh heh. Damn I'm evil.

Panther Nesmith: Glad you like how I'm writing Julien and Mattie. They're both fun. You wore gloves for your prom? Why?

Darkstorm5000: Glad you like what I'm doing with Remy and Belle. Considering that they're both very headstrong people, I can't imagine that they wouldn't go along with this marriage if they both didn't want it themselves, no matter how much they loved their families.

ThatsJustPeachy: I'm so glad to see you accept your addiction, dearie.


	5. Walking the Rogue

AN

AN: Brand new chapter, brand new disclaimer. This one comes with bodyguards. For those who have been asking, Wolverine is NOT Rogue's father. If you don't feel like waiting for me to reveal who it is, I doubt I've given enough clues but the answer can be found among Mystique's comic book relationships. And since this is AU I can do whatever I want with the characters, including change them from their Evo version.........

O-o-o-o-O

The sun felt warm on Rogue's face as they stepped out of the building, and the frown she had been wearing relaxed. Despite the varying and usually boring company, she did enjoy her walks. It was her only escape from the home and four walls of her room. Even though she couldn't see them, she still knew they were there, and it felt like a like dark cage holding her in. She missed the walks she and Irene had taken together when they first moved here. The hospital Irene went to had been near the Garden District, and their little house had been in the same neighborhood. Before the tumor got too bad, she and Irene had taken walks through the neighborhoods, and Irene would tell her stories about the history of the area. The scent of the many gardens would caress her nostrils, so unlike the underlying medicinal smell of the home. Azalea Lane wasn't in the same district as her old neighborhood, but it was still a welcome change from being indoors, and the fresh spring air was inviting. Rogue's cane tapped on the concrete as she and Remy made their way out onto the sidewalk and started on their little excursion.

She wasn't sure what to make of her new companion yet. He wasn't quite like the others so far, that's for sure. In a city where Cajun accents were an endangered species, the bayou dripped from his tongue like honey and she found herself enjoying the sound. From what she could tell he was several inches taller than her, and moved rather quietly; she almost hadn't heard him come in. She guessed it came with his profession. And he certainly didn't seem to be dull like the others. On the contrary, he irritated her with his attitude. He had no problem with insulting her to her face while the others would back down when she started giving them lip. On the one hand it was kind of refreshing while on the other it made her want to smack him. Like the question about sunglasses; yes she knew the stereotype about blind people wearing them, she remembered before the accident seeing members of the blind community wearing them. Irene had worn them too. But she had told Rogue that there were plenty of blind people who didn't wear them; and Rogue would be damned if she was going to confirm to a stereotype just to make others happy. In fact, she was glad they weren't happy. She certainly wasn't, so why should they be?

Remy hadn't put up much of an argument about the glasses though. Rogue's lip twitched as she walked; he must have just wanted to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Considering he was a thief and all, it was probably his first time in a place like that. She had never met a thief before; she had to admit that intrigued her a little. What must that be like, living a life of crime? Most likely it was anything but boring. Despite what he said, she bet he wasn't that good of a thief. Rogue bet she wouldn't have gotten caught in that museum if she weren't blind. She bet she could do a lot of things. Hell, she could do a lot of things even without her sight, as long as she wasn't here. If she weren't here though, where would she go? There was some money that Irene left her when she died that Rogue would get when she turned eighteen; the first thing she'd have to do is finish school. Rogue didn't have her GED yet; the people at the home were either too cheap or too paranoid to get her a tutor to help her finish her studies.

Even if she finished school though the current climate for mutants didn't sound too good. She listened to the news on the radio, and while there was no legislation involving mutants currently, there were enough people pushing for it that it scared her. Anti-mutant groups were popping up all over the country, and violence was being reported. It made her nervous. Not only would she soon be going out into a world where she would be alone and without her sight, but she would have to try to protect others from herself as well. It was a little unnerving. She felt like she was being punished for something somehow. To a blind person, touch had to be one of the most important senses. How do you function in the world when your touch is deadly? It was all she could do not to scream sometimes, but she already knew where screaming got her.

Her reverie was broken by the voice of her Cajun companion. "You're awfully quiet. Don't have anything to say anymore?"

"Maybe I just don't want to talk to you."

"No need to be hostile, _chere_; it hasn't even been an entire day yet. Maybe you should get to know me before you decide you don't like me?"

Rogue snorted and purposefully swung her cane out a little too wide. Remy yelped in pain as it connected with his ankle. "I know you're a mutant thieving Swamp Rat who ain't too good at his job. What else do I need to know?"

"Don't you think there's a little more to me than that? You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

Missing her own books dreadfully, Rogue frowned at the reference. "Sorry but the last time I checked, people don't come in Braille, sugah" she said, purposefully thickening her accent.

"True enough" he admitted. "You could just talk to me though."

"Why the hell would I want to do that? You're just here to fill your court requirement. It's not like you want to be here or anything."

"You got anyone else to talk to?"

"No, and I don't want to" she spat out bitterly. _Liar liar pants on fire_.......a little voice in her head sang at her.

"Why not?"

"Because the others there are afraid of me and my past 'companions' have been paid idiots, and then there's you" she said derisively.

"I don't think I'm that bad, _chere_." Remy said in a tone of voice from which Rogue could just tell he was smiling.

She snorted again. "No, I'm sure you don't", and swung her cane at his leg again. He must have been wise to her this time though, because suddenly he grabbed it away from her.

"Let's have none of that now, shall we?" he said.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she demanded, as he took her arm in his and continued walking.

Pissed off, Rogue could hear the voices of people nearby and a tiny devious smile came over her face before she quickly wiped it away. She pulled away from him and started yelling.

"HEY! Give me my cane back mister! Don't you know I'm blind? I need that! Help! Thief! This guy stole my cane!" She wasn't sure what Remy was doing but she could hear running footsteps and angry voices as people came running.

"Hey buddy, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You got a lot of nerve stealing from a blind girl!"

"What a creep!"

"You give that back now!"

In the ruckus someone handed Rogue her cane and she was able to escape the crowd that had gathered. Deciding to make the most of her newfound freedom, she made off as quickly as she could to finish her walk. From previous excursions she had a basic working knowledge of the neighborhood, so once she had gotten away from the scene of her crime she slowed down and started to enjoy the peace. She was in a residential neighborhood now, and the air was filled with sound of birds in the trees and children laughing as they played in their yards. Rogue smiled; this was nice, it reminded her of the neighborhoods she had played in back in Mississippi. If she pretended hard enough she could almost make herself believe she was walking home from playing at a friend's house. Irene would be waiting for her at home to hear how her afternoon went and to remind her to do her studies after dinner. Carla would be in the kitchen finishing up dinner and would expect her to set the table and help wash dishes afterwards. Normally Rogue hated washing dishes but now she thought she'd give anything to have that simple chore back again. She felt a tear prick at the corner of her eye and forcefully wiped it away. _I'm not going to cry over washing dishes, damnit!_, she thought to herself angrily. With all the big things in the world to cry over, why is it the little things that always get us?

It was too nice of a day to be depressed though. She didn't know when she'd get an opportunity like this again. Hell, after this little stunt she'd be lucky if they let her out of the building again. So she might as well enjoy it. Humming a little tune, she tapped her way down the sidewalk, enjoying the sun on her face, the scents and sounds around her, and the peace of not being stuck in her room. She was halfway through the neighborhood when she was grabbed by the shoulder and spun around.

"I bet you think you're funny, don't you _chere_?" said what sounded like a rather pissed-off Cajun. "I ought to wring your little neck."

O-o-o-o-O

Pissed off didn't even begin to describe Remy at the moment. He couldn't believe the girl had pulled a stunt like that. Actually, thinking back to what Candace had said about her, he should have been expecting it. Still, it was a low blow, especially to someone with a criminal record. And she KNEW he had a criminal record, which made it worse. If one of those people in the crowd had called the police, his ass would have been grass. After all, who was going to be believed, a convicted felon or a blind girl? Luckily, no one had, they had been content with cussing him out and threatening him, once Rogue had gotten her cane back. Once the crowd had dispersed though, he discovered that his charge had disappeared. _That's great Remy_, he had thought to himself, _lose the girl on your first day_. Thankfully he asked a couple of people who hadn't been in the lynch mob, and one of them was able to tell him which direction she had gone. He eventually found her in the middle of a residential neighborhood, happy as a clam, humming to herself as she made her way down the sidewalk. He wondered how she had expected to find her way back to the home, but then thought that maybe she didn't care. It was possible; this was a girl who was definitely unhappy with her life and he couldn't say he blamed her. He was damned if he was going to let her take it out on him though.

After grabbing her and declaring his desire to wring her neck, he looked her over. She looked fine; her little excursion hadn't done her any harm. Luckily for him. If anything happened to her while under his care he was toast. He suspected that she knew that though.

"I'd like to see you try" she said smugly, lips twitching in a smile.

"I could quite easily. You forget, you're wearing a turtleneck." Remy reached a hand up and fingered the collar of her top. Rogue tried to pull away but he still held her firmly by the arm. "Ah ah ah girl, your little field trip is over, you're not going anywhere. We're going back now."

"Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Probably the last bit of fun I'll have for awhile too, since I'm sure they'll never let me out again once they find out what happened" she said bitterly.

"Oh come now, surely you can't be serious."

"Can't I? I'm the only person on the women's wing who doesn't share a room. I can read, but I'm not allowed access to my books because that would require taking my gloves off. Candace just about had a heart attack when I mentioned swimming to her. I'm dangerous to them, and they don't take any chances with me. So don't tell me I'm not serious."

_Ignorant bastards_.....Remy thought to himself. _They'd keep her locked up 24/7 if they could_; _are you going to help them turn the key?_ Biting his lip, he glanced at her. Her expression was stoic; she already knew what her fate was going to be. _Not if I can help it_.

"Look, it doesn't have go like that. They don't have to know what happened. I don't have to tell them. Just, don't pull something like that again, okay? I could have gotten into a lot of trouble if someone had called the cops, so just don't do it again and we'll pretend it never happened, alright?"

Rogue looked startled. She obviously wasn't expecting this. "Um...sure. Okay. Thanks."

"Good. Now let's go, it'll be lunchtime by the time we get back; all this walking is making me hungry."

She seemed to have recovered enough from her discomfiture to smirk. "Oh you'll lose that appetite once we go to lunch. The cafeteria isn't exactly a four star restaurant."

Remy snorted as they started walking back. "Can't be any worse than what they served in jail. I swear hospitals must send their rejected food there."

Rogue actually chuckled at this. "Now that's bad. I've eaten hospital food. I didn't think it got much worse than that."

"Oh _oui_, it does. The meat was usually so tough it made you wonder if you were eating your shoes by mistake. It was almost enough to make a guy go vegetarian. And the baked goods? Don't get me started on the baked goods. My cell mates debated starting a hockey team and using the muffins for pucks."

By this time she was giggling. Remy decided she had a nice giggle. Too bad she didn't do it more often. She recovered quickly though and settled back down. After a moment, she spoke.

"You know, this doesn't mean I like you."

"Oh, and why not? All the _femmes_ like me."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "So, not only are you a thief and a Swamp Rat, but you're a player as well? Oh that really makes me want to like you now" she said sarcastically.

"_Non, non_, I used to play around, was the King of Hearts in fact; but I've got the most _belle femme_ now and I'll be marrying her this year."

Rogue smirked. "So a player can change his ways, eh? Well wonders never cease. So does this paragon of beauty have a name?"

Remy smiled. "Belladonna. Belladonna Boudreaux."

She snorted in laughter. "Belladonna? You're marrying a girl named after a poisonous mushroom? This should be an interesting marriage."

He scowled. "Hey, don't be knocking my fiancée, girl. You don't know nothing about her."

"I don't need to know anything about her. The fact that she's agreed to marry you tells me enough."

Remy sighed in disgust. "You really got a mouth on you, you know that?"

Her smirk grew more pronounced. "I know."

"It's no wonder you keep going through companions, people probably can't stand to be around you and I'm not sure if I can blame them."

"Too bad you have no choice in the matter, huh? Maybe if you were a better thief you wouldn't be here right now."

"I happen to be an excellent thief, _chere_; in fact I am the Prince of Thieves", he said proudly.

"Prince of Thieves? I thought that was Robin Hood. Don't tell me I'm around royalty now. If you're expecting me to curtsy or anything don't hold your breath. Actually, I changed my mind; do hold your breath, I'd like to hear you pass out."

Remy was going back to his earlier opinion; he'd like to wring her neck. If it weren't for the fact that he'd be adding murder to the list of his other crimes he'd do it in a heartbeat. With his luck he'd probably end up being cell mates with Phillips. Not that the crazy guy had actually tried anything in real life, it was just that the dream he'd had freaked him out enough to make having to share a cell with the guy extremely uncomfortable.

"Do us both a favor and shut up, okay?" he said in a nasty tone, then followed his own advice.

Rogue seemed satisfied with the reaction she'd gotten out of him and didn't say another word for the rest of the walk back. By the time they returned to the home it was lunchtime so they went directly to the cafeteria. Getting into line, they both grabbed one of the school-style, sectioned trays and moved along. When they got to the food, Sarah, the head cafeteria worker, smiled at them.

"Hi Rogue, who's your new friend?" According to Candace, she was one of the few people at the home who actually talked to Rogue.

She turned her head towards Sarah. "Hey Sarah, this Remy, my new 'companion'. Remy, this is Sarah."

Sarah nodded at him. "Hi Remy, nice to meet you. So how's it going so far?"

He rolled his eyes, but just said "So far, so good." The other woman grinned. Apparently she was used to seeing Rogue's other companions come and go.

"So what do you got for me today, Sarah?" Rogue asked.

"Well, we've got sandwiches, pasta salad, 3 bean salad, potato salad, and chips. And jello for dessert."

"I'll take an egg salad sandwich, pasta salad, and chips. What kind of jello?"

"Green."

Rogue made a face. "Blech. I'll pass. For some reason green jello always has a soapy taste to me."

"Okay. Remy, what about you?"

"I'll take a turkey and mustard sandwich, 3 bean salad, chips, and jello, please."

"No problem. It'll be just a moment for the sandwiches." She served the chips and salads onto their trays while another worker made the sandwiches. When those were done they grabbed napkins and drinks and made their out towards the tables. Remy wasn't sure how Rogue would manage her tray and cane at the same time but she actually handled it quite well with one arm.

"Where do you usually sit?" he asked, looking around the room.

"There's a table over there" she said, indicating the direction with her head. She started off that way and he followed her, sitting down across from her at the table she'd pointed out. It was a little on the small side, and no one else was sitting there.

"Careful, okay, I take off my gloves to eat" she said as she removed them and placed them beside her tray. Her skin was very smooth and almost unblemished; he bet it was very soft, had to be since it never saw the sun. She carefully moved her hand around the tray, feeling out where everything was, then picked up her sandwich and began to eat. Remy watched her for a moment then ate his own food.

Lunch passed for the most part in silence, each involved in eating their food. Remy noticed some of the other residents glancing their way as they ate. Some of the looks were at him and he smiled politely at them, but most were at Rogue and they ranged from curiosity to fear to disgust. He sighed.

"I take it you don't have too many friends here, _chere_?"

Rogue stopped eating her salad. "They're looking at me, aren't they?"

"_Oui_."

"Well, you're not too far off. I don't have any friends here. There were a few....accidents when I first got here, and I absorbed some people. I didn't want to do it, but people were careless, and now they're afraid. Of course there are a couple of people here who just plain don't like mutants, but you can find them anywhere."

"Even in the head office?"

"You mean Candace? No, she means well, but she's afraid like the others and just doesn't really know what to do with me. I think maybe if she could look at it like another special need instead of like I was another type of creature entirely it wouldn't be so bad, but....." her voice trailed off.

"Why should you look at it like a special need? It's a part of who you are, Rogue. It's a gift."

She snorted in disgust. "A gift? Please. You have a gift. Irene had a gift. My mother had a gift. I have a curse. I'm deprived of two of my most important senses and you want me to call it a gift."

Remy took a sip of his iced tea and put it down. "Maybe you developed that way for a reason though. You retain the life force and memories of the people you absorb, correct? So, in a way, doesn't that allow you to see?"

She paused. "I suppose. I saw through the memories of the people I touched. But I can't go through life that way. I hurt the people I touch. When I use my power, they get weak and pass out. It's conceivable that if I held on long enough that I could kill someone."

Now there was a sobering thought. To be able to actually kill through touch. But if you only did it for a short period of time though......

"I don't think you're really hurting them as badly as you think you are Rogue. Here, let me show you." Before she could pull away he grabbed her bare hand in his and was stunned at the sensation that immediately swept through him. It was like his mind was being sucked out of his head. He gasped out loud.

"No! Remy, stop." Rogue cried out and yanked her hand back from his. The feeling stopped and Remy put his hands on the table, trying to brace himself in an effort not to pass out. He felt weak all over.

"Damn _chere_, you weren't kidding."

"Yeah, I know" she said bitterly, a new Cajun note to her voice and tears in her eyes. She picked up her fork to continue eating her salad and gasped. Remy looked up and was surprised himself. The fork was glowing red; just like when he charged an object............

"Rogue, throw the fork behind you, NOW!"

She did and it exploded against the wall with a loud BANG. All eyes were on them now. Rogue's face was a study in horror.

"_Merde_."

"Well _chere_, it looks like life force and memories aren't the only things you absorb, _neh_?"

O-o-o-o-O

And Rogue absorbs her first mutant. Heh heh heh.

Responses:

**Silver Ink**: Exactly. If I give up my brain, the story doesn't get updated. Go ahead and stay confused. As long as it keeps you from my head.

**TheRealMai**: Nope, Wolverine is not her father, but then again you know that now. Try not to give it away before others have had a chance to guess though, heh heh.

**Jukebox:** The dream sequence was strictly a dream. Don't you just love how your mind takes all the junk that happens to you and turns it against you at night?

**Rogue14:** Too nice, eh? Was this any better?

**Melancholic:** Aw, come on. I like sadism. Too bad, because there will be more of it. Don't worry though, because any sadism that happens now will be made up for later. And you already know I can do it. Yes, Tori does rock. I got to see her in concert, and she was just amazing. I'm liking Rogue in this story, and Remy will get the hint eventually.

**Krac**: Go right ahead. I want to see Julian cry. Nah, writing Remy/Belle fluff didn't make me feel dirty; probably because I was feeling evil at the time. Your kids book sounds...umm...interesting.

**Hana the Wreck**: Well you're definitely going to get your wish here, considering the situation. Glad you're enjoying the story.

**Shockgoddess**: Hope you enjoy the outside tour as much as the inside tour.

**Ishy:** Yes, Remy definitely did need a hug after that dream xwatches volunteers line up around the worldx. I like Mattie too, she's fun. Yeah, the first meeting did go somewhat well, but if you'll remember she said she'd run him off if he acted like the others, and he wasn't quite acting like the others. I think I got her a little meaner here.

**MJ:** I understand where you're coming from, but I think it's a matter of there not being enough good romy stories. Which I'm trying to change, of course. So I do apologize, but they will not be having a brother/sister relationship.

**AnalisDestiny**: Yep, the Prince of Thieves got caught. Hey, everyone gets caught sometimes. It's not good to have too big of an ego.

**Lady Farevay**: Hello my favorite stalker. I told you before and I'll tell you again. I thought this was a lovely review. Thank you so much.

**Pandora's Sorrow**: I know. I hate those kinds of people too. Makes me want to drive a needle in their eye.

**Weaponx61**: Yikes, sorry about your hearing. I can't believe the doctor's saying you're faking it. Time for a new doctor.

**Blackdiamonddrop**: There will be romyness and X-Men, just not immediately. The giver of the gift was not Logan or one of the 'bad' guys, aka Trask. It wasn't only the bad guys who worked for the government.......

**A.247**: Sorry I wasn't able to deliver speed on either one. Hope this was worth the wait though.

**Rose-Z:** Yes, it's a big challenge but that just makes it more fun getting there. And yes, I know I'm evil. But you guys love me anyway.

**Darkstorm5000:** Well, I've given you a couple of clues here concerning the giver of the cane. He will be showing up later in the story, I've got plans for him.

**Panther Nesmith**: Ani? I don't know Ani. Rogue may do some Bjork later though.

**Fissie:** Dream. Definitely a dream. You're sick anyway, but I like that in a person. Regarding Python, I don't know if it requires brains, but I've yet to meet a stupid Python fan.

**DemonicGambit:** Nah, the Marauders aren't there, they're busy keeping an eye on Remy and company at the moment. You now owe me two chapters. Bwhahahahahhaa.

**EE's Skysong**: I only called Rogue a mouse because of the old Three Blind Mice thing. Get it, a rat vs a mouse? XsighX.

**Leafee**: Yes dearie, I know; Remy/Bella is sickening. I should probably put warnings on those chapters for fans who may have just eaten. No, Logan is not Rogue's father. I thought the whole Logan as Rogue's father bit was rather overused so I'm using someone else. There are clues in my author's note at the top if you don't feel like waiting.


	6. Remy on the Brain

**AN**

**AN**: Okay, okay, I know I usually alternate updates and I'm leaving poor Remy in mid-brain surgery by breaking order and posting this first, but this plot bunny was biting me harder. OW! _glares at the bunny._ Do I really have to say that I don't own the X-Men? The ridiculous things they're doing with the characters should make it obvious that I don't.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand corrected. Belladonna isn't a mushroom, she's a plant. Personally I think she's funnier as a mushroom. _Sticks tongue out at Fissie_

O-o-o-o-O

The first thing that crossed Rogue's mind when Remy grabbed her hand was how nice his skin felt. His hand was narrow and strong, and felt so good against her own that rarely touched anything else. But then his mind hit hers, and drove all thoughts away. So strong, it was unlike anyone else she had ever touched. As usual, when she touched someone, she was overwhelmed in thoughts of another's life, but this time there was something else too. An energy that she could feel inside her, building up. She had to stop this. She yanked her hand away from Remy's.

"No! Remy, stop." She tried to calm herself down; images that she knew weren't from her life swirling through her brain. Images of a happy family, a beautiful blonde girl with love in her eyes, herself in a museum at night being chased down a hall by guards, sitting in a jail cell with her hands locked together while the other prisoners taunted her, and all the while a pair of eyes glowed in the background, red against the darkness. NO! This was not her life, these were not her memories. She was Rogue Darkholme, not Remy LeBeau. Rogue Rogue Rogue. She was not a Cajun thief in love with an Assassin. She did not have a brother named Henri and a cousin named Emil who loved to play pranks on her. She was raised by Irene, not Mattie.

Determined to drive the foreign thoughts into the back of her mind, she picked up her fork to begin eating again. She barely heard Remy speak over the racket in her mind.

"Damn chere, you weren't kidding." He sounded weak. Y_ou creep, it's not like I didn't warn you_.

"Yeah, I know" she said, and wasn't really surprised to find that she had acquired a Cajun accent. _Oh great, now I sound like him too_. Tears pricked her eyes and a burst of anger went through her. She was surprised when suddenly she felt the fork in her hand grow hot and Remy spoke, panic in his voice.

"Rogue, throw the fork behind you, NOW!"

She didn't question him and tossed it behind her. She was horrified to hear it explode a moment later. Scattered screams came from the rest of the cafeteria. _What the hell did I just do?_

"Merde." _Since when did I know French?_

"Well chere, it looks like life force and memories aren't the only things you absorb, neh?"

_Aren't the only things......he can blow things up....oh my god I've absorbed his mutation, I can absorb mutations....._

Suddenly afraid to touch anything, she kept her hands away from the table. "What did you do to me, you asshole? Why did you have to touch me?" She could hear him get up and approach her. She stood up in a hurry and backed away in a panic, tears streaming down her face.

"NO! Get away from me! Don't touch me!" _Oh god oh god what am I going to do I can blow things up now but how the hell do I stop this?_

She could hear the voices of the other residents murmuring around her and it just increased her panic. _What are they going to do with me now? I'm worse then ever now, I'm a walking bomb; all I have to do is touch something and BOOM! It's all his fault, all his fault, why did he have to touch me? _She wanted to leave here, wanted to get out from in front of all these people that she knew were staring at her, but she couldn't even grab her cane because she was afraid she'd blow it up. Someone touched her shoulder from behind and she cried out in fear and surprise. Remy's voice came quietly in her ear and his hands caught her shoulders, stilling her.

"Rogue, shhh, calm down, it's just me. I've got your cane and we're going to go back to your room now, okay? It'll be alright."

"Comment pouvez-vous dire it's allant être bien ? Je peux souffler des choses vers le haut maintenant vous fluage ! Et it's votre défaut !" _How can you say it's going to be alright? I can blow things up now you creep! And it's your fault!_ Rogue looked puzzled for a moment then snarled. "Plus you've got me talking French you damn Swamp Rat."

It only enraged her further when he chuckled. "Well, if it's any consolation you have a lovely accent."

She fumed. "Well it's not, because that's yours too. Just get me out of here" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She clasped her hands together and he put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the cafeteria, back towards her room. She could hear the voices around her, the muttered insults and wished she could just melt into the floor. She couldn't remember being so scared before. What if this didn't go away? What if she continued to blow things up at will? Wait, though; this was Remy's power and he wasn't blowing things up all the time. Surely there was a way to control it. She just had to get him to show her how to do it. First she had to calm down. It wasn't easy though. She had never felt anything like this before. She had just touched the fork and felt the energy flow through her into it. It was weird. It was amazing.

Rogue's thoughts were startled by Remy speaking up. "You know what _chere_, we'd probably be better off going outside. We don't want you blowing up your room, _neh_?" He changed direction and from the route he was taking she could tell he was taking her to the back entrance, to where they had a basketball court and a small baseball diamond. She had been out there sometimes to listen to the games.

He took her outside and led her to one of the benches, where she sat down. He took a seat beside her and she could hear him shuffling around in his coat pocket.

"Rogue, I'm going to give you something to use your power on."

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

"Playing cards. I use them myself. They're light and easy to throw. Just let it charge up and throw it away from you. There's no one else out here so you don't have to worry about hurting anyone."

She felt him lay the deck on her lap. She touched it, but didn't feel it charge, so she picked one up carefully. Only when she had one in her hand did she feel the energy come and enter the card. Quickly she flung it away from her and she could hear the bang as it exploded. She flinched at the sound.

"How do you get used to it?" she asked.

"Practice. Lots of practice. It wasn't easy. I was blowing up everything I touched at first. Eventually I got it under control and it got easier."

"Eventually" she fumed. "I shouldn't have to be practicing. You shouldn't have touched me. I told you to be careful. You knew what would happen. Candace warned you about me. What the hell were you thinking?!"

She heard him sigh, and he was quiet for a moment. To vent, she charged another card and threw it, feeling a bit of satisfaction this time when she heard the explosion. Too bad it wasn't his head.

"_Desole_ Rogue, I truly am. I was stupid. I guess I wanted to show you that you weren't hurting the people you touched as badly as you thought you were."

"What about how it hurts me? Do you know that every person I touch stays with me? I have you in my head now. I've never spoken French before, but I understand it now. I've never seen New Orleans with my own eyes, but I can see it through yours now. I know how to pick a lock now, though I've never done it before in my life. Your poisonous mushroom is a beautiful blonde girl that you're marrying to end a feud with another Guild; its just luck that the two of you happen to be in love. Shall I continue? Your life is in my head and I don't want it!" she broke off, muttering a few curses in French as she threw another charged card.

"I'm sorry Rogue, really I am."

"You can be sorry all you want, but that doesn't do me much good, does it? I'm not exactly sure what to do here; I've never absorbed another mutant before. This is new territory for me." She paused for a moment and threw another card. "If you're truly sorry though, you can tell me how to control this. I don't know if this is permanent or not and I can't worry about blowing everything up."

Remy laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. She couldn't help but flinch; it was too ingrained in her now. "_Oui,_ I'll help you with it. It's the least I can do considering I caused it."

"You've got that right", she muttered under breath as she fingered another card, feeling the charge build up in it. This time she let it build up a little longer than the others, experimenting to see how big a bang she could get. She wasn't disappointed. The resulting explosion was very satisfactory. Unfortunately it was also very bad timing, because at that moment she heard the door behind them open and someone come out.

"What the HELL is going on around here?!" came Candace's strident voice.

"Oh merde" Rogue sighed. She was really starting to get used to these French curses. Irene must be rolling in her grave; she would have washed Rogue's mouth out with soap for talking like that, in any language. _I'm dead I'm dead I'm sooo dead. Remy'll go back to prison and I'll never be outside of my room again. They'll lock me up and throw away the key, they'll....._

Rogue's paranoid ranting was interrupted by Remy.

"I can explain Candace, really. It was my fault. I wasn't thinking, and grabbed Rogue's hand by accident. She had never touched another mutant before, and apparently she can absorb mutant powers as well as life force and memories. We don't know yet if it's permanent or not. I can show her how to control it though, so she doesn't have any accidents, just in case it is."

Candace really didn't seem to be listening though. "No, I don't like this. This just proves to me how dangerous she is. She's a threat to the other residents. I'm going to call the state, there's got to be places where they can keep people like her so she can't hurt anyone."

Remy's hand on her shoulder tensed and she couldn't help the panic that was going through her.

"NO, Candace please; listen. I'm telling you I can help her control it. She doesn't have to be a danger to anyone." His hand left her shoulder and she heard him get up and walk away from her. "Besides, if Rogue gets sent away I wouldn't have any reason to come back here and have the pleasure of your company, now I would I?"

Remy's voice became a husky purr and Rogue involuntarily shivered. Even though she knew that the Cajun was just trying to sweet talk the other woman, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous; no one had ever spoken like that to her before and it was more than likely that no one ever would. She could see images of some of his more intimate moments with Belle through his eyes and the stolen memories made her blush. She envied the pretty girl; Rogue would never have what she had, with anyone. Not when a mere touch could steal their life.

Candace seemed to be falling for his act, as her voice softened. "Well, I suppose I could let you try." Stupid woman, Rogue thought to herself, falling for sweet words like that.

"_Merci chere_, you're kindness itself." Remy said, and Candace giggled. Rogue wanted to gag.

"Well, I suppose I'll let you two get back to work. Do come by later on and let me know how you're progressing."

"I will, I promise." Remy said, and Candace left, not even having said a word to Rogue, like she wasn't even there. Not that she really wanted to talk to the woman, but it would have been nice to be acknowledged. Sighing, she took a card and viciously threw it, taking great delight at the resulting explosion. She was really getting to like this mutation. Now if she could just get control of it, she wouldn't mind keeping it. Too bad she couldn't watch the damn cards blow up.

Remy came over and sat back down. "How's that going, Rogue; still feel as strong as before?"

She snorted. "Oh, so you're going to talk to me again, eh? Wouldn't rather go and talk to your _chere_? After all, she is kindness itself."

"Come on Rogue, you know I was just trying to sweet talk her, get her to calm down a little. Besides, I didn't have to do that. I could have just let her send you away like she wanted to."

"Riiiiight, and having messed up your assignment, on the first day no less, you'd be back in prison so fast it'd make your head spin. You did that for yourself, not me."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. But it's not like you've given me any reason to want to do anything for you. So I guess it's a good thing I feel bad about what I did to you, neh?"

"Why you..."

But he interrupted her. "Now let's see about getting this thing under control. Take one of the cards and this time when you charge it, don't throw it right away but concentrate on pulling the charge back. Feel the energy and draw it back into you. Try it."

Rogue muttered a few curses under her breath.

"Watch your language, _chere_. You don't talk fit to eat."

She could hear him chuckling softly. She growled a little but didn't say anything else and picked up a card, feeling it charge up immediately. She didn't throw it away but did as he had said, concentrating on the energy and trying to pull it back into her body. It didn't work and eventually she threw it away in frustration, where it exploded with a nice loud bang.

"Damnit! It's not working", she fumed, scowling fiercely.

"Of course not. You just tried it. You have to keep at it for a while. Don't give up so easily."

Rogue sighed, and grabbed another card. It took a couple of hours and almost two decks of cards (Remy had to go inside to ask for another deck off one of the other residents), but eventually she was able to pull the charge back into herself. By this time she noticed that the energy was becoming weaker each time she used it and she was beginning to think that the power transfer was only temporary. This made her feel a little better. She didn't want to have to worry about accidentally blowing anything up. She still wasn't happy with Remy for touching her in the first place though. _If he hadn't done it though you wouldn't know that you could absorb mutant powers though,_ the little voice in her mind said. _Imagine what you could do. You can borrow anyone's powers with just a touch. Yeah but it's not like I know a lot of mutants,_ she thought back to herself. _He's the first one I've known since Irene. Where would I meet them anyway? Besides, if I have to hurt them and go through this business of absorbing their memories then it's not worth it. No thank you._

By the end of the afternoon Remy's power had faded and Rogue was able to touch objects again without blowing them up. He handed Rogue her gloves and she put them on gratefully; glad to have her protection back. As nice as his hand had felt, she didn't want to go through the trauma of absorbing him again. She felt for her cane and found it leaning against the bench nearby. Standing up, she turned and walked towards the door, Remy walking ahead of her to open it. They didn't say anything until they got back to her room and she sat down in her rocking chair in relief, glad to be back in her comfort zone after the day she'd had.

"So you're going home now?" She asked Remy.

"_Oui_. Been quite a first day, huh?"

"Oh yeah" she laughed sarcastically. "You certainly know how to leave an impression on a girl."

"Well I do try. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? And I really am sorry about earlier."

She sighed. "I know, I know. Just don't try to pull that shit again. That was stupid."

"Got it. _Au revoir, chere_." And he left, closing the door behind him.

Rogue groaned. Oy, what a day it's been. After a day like today, she needed something loud and obnoxious to drown out the new voice in her head. Pulling off a glove, she felt through her CD collection until she found a Drowning Pool album.

_Perfect_ she smiled to herself.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy was walking down the hall when the sound of "Bodies" came crashing out of Rogue's room. He smirked to himself and shook his head. What an odd _femme_. He couldn't believe he had grabbed her hand though. How could he have been so stupid? Now, from what she said, she had his life in her head. It's not like he had any deep, dark life-threatening secrets to hide, he just didn't like the idea of someone else sharing his innermost thoughts and memories. And his power, she had had his power too. Now that was just freaky. Scary, that she was capable of stealing a power like that and not even be able to see what she was doing to use it. Imagine what she could do if she could see though. There was that downside of taking the person's memories though. Rogue had been very upset after absorbing him. He could tell that this was something she wouldn't want to be doing on a regular basis, even if she could see.

He made his way down to Candace's office; he still had to give his progress report on Rogue and what had happened. He had gotten so mad when that woman had started talking about sending her away. How could she even think of such a thing? Rogue wasn't a weapon; she was a teenage girl! They were supposed to be looking out for her welfare, but in this case they were sadly lacking. What do you do against the State of Louisiana though? He supposed it could be worse. Some mutants were getting turned over to hate groups like this new Friends of Humanity that had sprung up recently. He shuddered to think of what those people would do to someone like her. No, she's better off where she is, even if they are a bunch of idiots.

Remy knocked on Candace's door and entered when he heard her voice tell him to come in. He sat down in the chair in front of her desk and gave her a smile with little warmth to it, but he doubted that she noticed.

"Hello Remy" she said sweetly as he sat down. "So how did things go? I do hope she didn't bother you too much."

He gritted his teeth. "It went fine. Apparently the transfer is only temporary; she no longer has my power so you don't have to worry about her blowing anything up. And like I said before; this was my fault, I'm the one who grabbed Rogue's hand. You shouldn't blame her for this."

She looked doubtful. "I don't know. If she hadn't had her gloves off...."

"Oh good grief! No offense, but do you really expect her to eat with gloves on? Look, I'm the one who made the mistake and I'm sorry for that, but don't go overboard here."

"I'm merely looking out for the welfare of the other residents." Candace now had her bureaucratic tone of voice in play.

"And I understand that. But from what I've seen Rogue doesn't seem to be a grabby sort of person. Quite the opposite in fact. I don't think you're going to have any problems if you continue to allow her to eat with her gloves off. This was completely my fault and I promise not to touch her again. Okay?"

Candace sighed, clearly not happy with the situation. "Fine. I don't want any more incidents like this happening though, do you understand? Something like this occurring on your first day with us doesn't look good. You do understand that I have to put this incident into my report to the court, correct?"

"Oui" Remy said solemnly. _Boy, you really started things well, didn't you?_

"Now were there any other incidents today that I should know about?"

"Non" Remy lied through his teeth, determined to never tell her about the little stunt Rogue pulled while out on their walk.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised. Usually she pulls two or three pranks on the first day. You must have made a good impression on her. Let's hope it continues." She made a few notes in his folder. "Now unless you have any questions we'll see you tomorrow."

"No, that's fine." Remy got up, shook Candace's hand and left; glad to finally leave that place and go home. He rode his motorcycle at a leisurely pace, trying to decide what he'd tell his family when he got back. _Hello all, well she's a really pretty girl, but she's got a major attitude and a temper like a snake. She pulled a prank on me out in public and almost got me arrested again, then stole my thoughts and powers because I was stupid and got grabby and nearly blew up the cafeteria! Oh yeah, just a lovely day all in all_. He sighed. _How do I get myself into these things?_

Tante Mattie was taking a roast beef out of the oven when he got home, and he was immediately corralled into setting the table. "That's all I am to people" he grumbled, "is slave labor."

"Oh hush boy." Mattie fussed while finished cooking vegetables on the stove. "You need to earn your keep around here like everyone else. They've been working all day while you've been hanging out with a pretty girl."

Remy turned and looked at her. "How'd you know she was pretty?"

Mattie smirked at him. "'Cause otherwise you'd be in a much worse mood than you are. So tell me about her."

He shook his head. "She may be pretty but she's got a temper on her that could curdle milk." Remy proceeded to tell Mattie what little he knew about Rogue's mutation and background, and the highlights of his day. He left out the part about her making a fool of him in the middle of the sidewalk.

Mattie sighed. "Sounds like that girl's had a hard life, can't say as I can blame her for being a little rough around the edges. If you've got no one there for you and you're defenseless, you've got to build up some kind of shield for yourself." She took the vegetables off the stove and set them on the table. "Those people over in that place, they sound like a bunch of fools. They'll never help her the way she needs to be helped. You need to be a friend to that girl, Remy. You're the only one who can understand her there." Mattie went over to the stairs and yelled up that dinner was ready.

Remy groaned. "She doesn't exactly make it easy, Tante. Sometimes I want to wring that girl's neck."

"Of course it's not going to be easy!" she scolded. "This is part of your work though, and you need to do the best you can. Now sit down and eat."

Remy rolled his eyes and obeyed her as the rest of his family came downstairs and joined them.

O-o-o-o-O

_"You're such a pretty boy; those eyes, that face. I bet the girls just go crazy over you. Prince of the Thieves' Guild, aren't you? And a mutant to boot. You'll go away for a long time. They'll just love you in prison, pretty one. You won't be so pretty anymore after a couple of years. A shame, that." The finger moved from Remy's hair down the side of his face, and he flinched in shame and anger. A drop of sweat ran down Remy's face, and Phillips wiped it off with his finger, then brought it up to his mouth and licked it._

_"Delicious", he whispered._

_Remy couldn't take it anymore. "Get the hell out of here, you sick piece of shit!"_

_Phillips shook his head and made clucking noises. "Now now, such nasty words coming from such a pretty mouth. Didn't your momma raise you better than that?" He didn't wait for an answer, and_ _smacked Remy hard across the face. He cocked his head, as if listening to something, then nodded. "Yes, I agree. He would be just the thing to make things quiet again. Don't you agree?", he asked Remy. "You don't have to answer. It's perfectly clear to me that you are just the thing. Now just lie still and soon everything will be all better."_

_Phillips' hands moved to Remy's sleeping shorts and he wanted to scream, alert the guards, alert SOMEONE because this just could not be happening, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out................._

"NO!"

Rogue woke up in her bed crying out, tears streaming down her face. _Oh god, what the HELL was that? Remy, that was Remy's dream, dear god had that happened to Remy?_ She shuddered in revulsion, not being able to escape the images in her head. It was like she had been there. She could still feel that sick man's hands on her, hear his voice, see him in front of her, and it made her want to be sick. _Oh god oh god oh god_ she clutched her pillow to her and buried her face in it, not able to stop the tears that poured from her eyes. _Damn you for doing to this to me Remy LeBeau; how dare you give me your nightmares like this!_

Knowing sleep wouldn't come back to her tonight, she kept the pillow tightly to her and cried the tears of someone else's fear and pain.

O-o-o-o-O

Responses:

**Ishy:** Nope, no brain drilling. No Essex in this story either. Different bad guys though. Heh heh. Glad you liked the insult, unfortunately I found out Belladonna's a plant, not a mushroom. Phooey. Personally I like her better as a mushroom. No, Remy definitely is not the sharpest fish. He paid for it though, didn't he? Heh heh

**DemonicGambit:** Yep, and guess what?! Tag, you're it again! LOL

**Unwanted:** Nope, it's not Magneto.

**Rain:** DING DING DING! Give this person a cookie.

**Kitrazzle Fayn:** I never could figure out why green jello tastes like soap. Oh well. How goes your research? Someone's guessed it already.

**TheRealMai**: Yes, your source is quite smart, and gets a cookie. Hope the wait wasn't too long this time.

**Darkstorm5000**: Yep, Remy on the brain. Not necessarily a good thing though, as our poor girl is finding out.

**Fissie**: Okay, fine. She's a plant. I like her better as a mushroom though. Nyah.

**Lady Farevay:** Glad you liked the stunt, I had fun writing that.

**UniversalAnimeGirl:** Nope, it ain't Creed. Logan will be happy to know that. I've heard mixed reports of whether Graydon's conception was consensual or not, would you happen to know? I wouldn't do that to poor Rogue anyway, she's got things bad enough as it is. Kurt is the oldest, and Rogue doesn't know about him, or the X-Men. I don't know what Irene was thinking when she set things up, but then again she did have a brain tumor and may not have been thinking straight. Yes, I would like to hear about your brother's stunt.

**A.247:** Thank you for the lovely, lovely review dearie.

**Badme:** There most likely will be a lemon, but not for a while.

**Panther Nesmith:** Just for you dearie, I will check out Ani, and see if she is worthy for my Rogue to listen to.

Everyone else: Thank you so much for your reviews. I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story.


	7. Truce?

AN

AN: Nope, no X-Men here. Wish I did own them though, I'd put X-3 in the theatres a lot sooner.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy woke up at the sound of the alarm and once again refrained from smashing his alarm clock. Someone really needs to make smashable alarm clocks. Surely there were enough people in the world who hated mornings that there would be a good market for a clock you could beat the shit out of every morning. He knew he'd buy one, that's for sure.

_Good morning idiot_, a little voice in his head said to him.

Ah yes, with morning, the reminder of where he needed to go. Time for another joyful day over at Azalea Lane and that oh-so-friendly girl Rogue. Riiiiiight. Friendly and Rogue didn't seem to belong in the same sentence. _Well maybe if you hadn't gone and grabbed her_, that voice in his mind reminded him, _and invaded her mind like that…….._

"Bullshit" Remy muttered as he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. She already wasn't being very nice before he touched her. It wasn't his fault she had a bad attitude. He mumbled nasty things about her as he took his shower and continued as he got out, dried off and dressed. _Couldn't even bother trying to be nice_, he thought to himself. What a _fille_. Had to go insulting his _belle chere_ to boot. That reminded him of something. It couldn't be true, could it? Remy went downstairs and snuck into the library before Mattie could snag him for kitchen duty. Browsing among the many books, he looked until he found one on botany, and started reading. A minute or two later he had triumphant grin on his face. Hah! He'd show her.

Happy that'd he be able to show himself smarter than his ill-mannered assignment, Remy went into the kitchen and gave Mattie a kiss on the cheek; he didn't even complain when she set him to work peeling potatoes for hash browns. Breakfast passed pleasantly and after helping Mattie clear away the dishes (for some reason Remy always seemed to be the designated kitchen slave, he wasn't sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Henri always seemed to be busy between Merci and helping his pere with Guild business, and Emil had too much of a tendency to break things. Remy often wondered why the only other girl in the house didn't help more; but the one time he was dumb enough to ask, he was swatted upside the head and accused of being sexist by Merci. He stopped asking after that and accepted his role in life. Merci often teased him that he'd make Bella a good house husband.), Remy grabbed his trench coat and headed for the door.

"Now you remember to be nice to that Rogue girl" Mattie called as he left.

"Oui Tante" he said obediently. _Oh I'll be nice to her all right_, he thought sarcastically as he got on his bike and left. He made sure to appreciate the scenery on the way over; he was rather reluctant to take Rogue out on another walk so soon after the disastrous excursion they'd had yesterday. She said she wouldn't try to do that again, but he wasn't sure if he trusted her or not; she did have a reputation for giving her companions hell after all. They'd just have to find some other way to occupy her time. Just how he wanted to spend the next year, too; keeping company with a girl who couldn't stand him and now had his thoughts in her head.

_And whose fault was that?_ The little voice taunted. Yeah, yeah, shut the hell up already. He retorted. Great, now he was having arguments with himself. If he kept this up he'd be just as bad as Phillips, he thought with a shudder. _Well at least I'm not arguing philosophy. And I think I'm winning._

Shutting up his mental debate, Remy parked his bike in the lot at the home and went inside to check in with Candace, like he had to do every morning. She gave him a slightly frustrated look when he entered her office.

"Oh I'm glad you're here, Remy. I don't know what's wrong with that girl but Rogue was up screaming last night; woke up half the wing" she said.

Remy frowned. "So the _fille_ had a nightmare, it sounds like. What do you think I can do?"

"Talk to her, find out what happened. I can't have her disturbing the other residents like that."

"What about you?" he asked.

"Well if I could do it, then I really wouldn't need you here, now would I?" Candace responded in the closest thing to sarcasm she had gotten with Remy.

Somehow he wasn't surprised. She didn't really seem the type to confide in after a bad dream. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Can't make no promises though."

"Fine. See if you can get her to eat something, too. She never came for breakfast."

Remy nodded and left her office, heading down to the women's wing. At Room 33 an almost harsh electronic beat dragged out of the room, and he knocked hard to make sure he would be heard. He heard Rogue's voice call out "Come in!" and he opened the door, stepping inside.

Instead of sitting in her rocking chair, Remy was surprised to find her still in bed, blanket dragged up to her neck as she lay on one side, a stuffed cat clutched in her bare hands. An oddly accented woman's voice came out of the stereo with that harsh beat, and Rogue sang along with it.

_Excuse me but I just have to explode, explode this body off me_

When Remy didn't say anything, she stopped. "I know I missed breakfast Candace, but I'm not hungry", she said sullenly, empty eyes aiming out at nothing.

"I'm not Candace" Remy said, and Rogue froze at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, it's you" she said, and turned down the volume on the stereo with the remote that was sitting on the nightstand.

"_Oui_, it's me. What are you doing still in bed?"

"I didn't think you'd be back today. Thought maybe you'd ask for a different assignment or they'd get mad about yesterday and send you back to jail" Rogue commented.

Remy closed the door behind him and went to sit in Rogue's rocking chair, making himself at home.

"No, I'm back. You're not rid of me that easily. And you didn't answer my question."

Rogue gave a muffled one-shoulder shrug from under the blanket. "I didn't feel like getting up."

"Any particular reason why? Candace said you were screaming last night."

Her face darkened. "None of your damn business, Cajun."

"Well Candace is making it my business. She didn't like that you were waking people up."

"Figures" Rogue snorted.

"So, you had a bad dream or something? It's okay, everybody gets those", he said, trying to keep his tone easygoing. _Didn't realize being a companion meant having to play amateur psychologist_

"Like I'd tell you" she said sarcastically, and rolled onto her other side, taking the stuffed cat with her.

"Who else are you going to tell, _chere_?" Remy asked, and started rocking.

"What makes you think I want to tell anyone?"

He shrugged, not caring that she couldn't see it. "Fine, you'll stay in bed and we'll talk about something else. So who are you listening to this time?"

"Bjork" came the answer from the pile of blankets on the bed.

Remy blinked. "Bjork? Isn't that the noise the Swedish Chef used to make on the Muppet Show?" He heard a muffled sound that may or may not have been a laugh.

"No, Bjork's a singer. She's from Iceland. You really do need to get more variety in your music, Cajun."

"Yeah, I guess. She seems…ummm….interesting. So what's this song called?"

"Pluto" Rogue said, rolling onto her back.

"Pluto? Doesn't sound like she's talking about any planets, seems like she's just talking about exploding."

"Don't ask me, I didn't write the song. I just listen to it."

"Whatever" Remy said, rocking comfortably in the chair. He then remembered why he was gloating earlier. "You were wrong, you know. Belladonna isn't a mushroom, she's a plant; I mean it's a plant" Remy said in a slightly know it all voice.

"So? I think she sounds better as a mushroom, so there" Rogue stuck her tongue out in Remy's general direction.

"Well I don't want you calling my fiancé a mushroom" Remy said.

"I'll call her whatever I want. Besides, you just called her a plant."

"That was a slip of the tongue."

"Yeah. She must be a really exciting person if you can slip that easily" Rogue said sarcastically.

"She is! She's a lot more interesting than you. At least she doesn't send small children into therapy with her temper."

"Well neither do I" Rogue commented proudly. "Just adults."

"Oh yes, that's really something to be proud of. I'm so happy for you."

She shrugged, head turned up towards the ceiling. "Everyone's got to be good at something."

"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Remy said after a moment.

"You still haven't given me a good reason", she said, rolling back onto her side facing Remy.

"How about the fact that I'm going to bug you until you do?" he asked mockingly.

"GAH! If you have to know, you annoying creep, I was having one of your dreams. Just one of the nice things you left in my head yesterday" she said in a bitter voice.

"One of mine?" Remy asked. _No, please, not that one……._

"Oh yes, pretty boy. One of yours. I'm sure you've probably had it rather recently, considering it was still fresh in your mind." Her face darkened. "Not exactly how I wanted to wake up, hearing that guy's voice in my head. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night."

Oh god. Of all the things she could have taken out of his head, she had to grab that dream. The events in it had never really happened, but it still scared him badly. The idea of being raped by a psychopath was enough to scare anybody. And now she had that running through her head. No wonder she had been screaming in the night. His gloating attitude went away and Remy found himself feeling very sorry for her. As much as they didn't get along, he wouldn't wish that on her.

"_Desole,_ Rogue", he said quietly. "I'm sorry, I really truly am. I had no idea you'd get that dream."

"All part and parcel of my wonderful gift" she murmured, a weary look on her face. "If it's in your head, I get it." She paused a moment. "Did….did that really happen?" she asked hesitantly.

Remy shook his head slightly; somehow he couldn't get out of the habit. He supposed it was good that he forgot that she was blind. "No, it was just a dream. I had been in jail after getting arrested at the museum and the other prisoners had been making a lot of wisecracks about the stuff that would happen to me when I went to prison. I guess my mind decided to take the creepiest guy there and torment me about it."

"I see" Rogue said. "Our minds are funny that way I guess; they love to pick up and dwell over the worst things. I hope you stop having the dream soon."

"Thanks" Remy replied. "I hope you do too." Then he glanced at her. "I know you said you weren't hungry, but I could really use a cup of coffee and I don't want to sit in that cafeteria by myself. Are you sure you couldn't try to eat something?"

A faint smile went across Rogue's face. "Lame attempt at getting me up, Cajun, but I'll take pity on you. Go wait in the hall while I get dressed", she said, putting the stuffed cat aside and crawling out of bed.

"Oh _merci beaucoup_" Remy said with a little grin. Yeah, it was lame, but at least it got her out of bed. He got up and went outside into the hall. A few minutes later Rogue came out of her room dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved top, gloves back on her hands and eyes uncovered. Remy wondered if she ever wore anything else, but doubted it. She had to keep herself covered at all times for both everyone else's protection and, he realized now, for her own as well. It was too bad though. She probably would like the option to have some variety in her wardrobe.

Cane out, she started tapping her way down the hall. "You coming, Remy? This is supposed to be for your benefit, you know" she called back to him as she continued walking. Remy smirked and caught up with her. Even after a rough night she still didn't lose her attitude. There had to be some way to get along with her better. He didn't want to spend the entire year in a battle with his assignment.

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue walked down the hall to the cafeteria, fighting the urge to yawn. It really had been a bad night. She was still creeped out by that dream; like any dreams she absorbed from others, it felt like she actually was him, experiencing what was going on. Despite the fact it gave her the chance to see, she didn't like experiencing other people's thoughts and nightmares. If she was going to see, she wanted it to be on her own, through her own eyes, not vicariously through the stolen images of others. She knew that wouldn't happen though; the damage from the accident was inoperable according to the doctors Irene had taken her to, so it seemed that the only way she would ever see now was by proxy. It didn't mean she was about to go around grabbing people just so she could see things though. The side effects she got with it just weren't worth it.

She had to admit, she was feeling a bit sorry for Remy, now that she had experienced his nightmare. Of course it didn't take away from the annoyance she still felt. It was his fault after all, that she was even experiencing it in the first place. She'd have to find some way to pay him back for that. Nothing like what she had pulled yesterday during their walk; she said she wouldn't do that again and she meant it. It didn't mean she wouldn't do anything else though. Should it be a series of small paybacks or one big one? She was less likely to get into any major trouble with the former, so she'd go with that. Candace really wasn't happy with her lately and Rogue didn't want to push her luck. She knew from listening to the news that there were much worse places she could be sent to, being a mutant and all. Despite everything, she was better off being here.

Breakfast was still being served in the cafeteria, so when Rogue came in she walked up to the counter, grabbed a tray and slid it down the line.

"So you've decided to grace us with your presence after all, Rogue" came Sarah's teasing voice.

Rogue gave her a weak smile. Sarah was about the only person in this place she could stand, or could stand her. "The Cajun here was begging for caffeine, so I took pity on him" she commented as she heard Remy walk up next to her.

"The usual today, girl?" Sarah asked her.

"Yes please. Bagel and fruit cup" she responded.

When she'd been handed the plate that had her breakfast on it, Rogue moved down the line and got herself a cup of juice and headed for her usual table, not bothering to wait for Remy. Sitting down, she took off her gloves and started nibbling on her bagel. She'd already decided how she would begin paying Remy back. When he joined her at the table she gave a yawn that was only partially faked.

"I'm sorry, could you do me a favor? I forgot to get a spoon for my fruit, could you grab me one?" she asked pleasantly.

"Um, sure" Remy replied, and she heard him get up and walk off. She could smell his coffee, so reaching out carefully, she felt around until she found his coffee cup. Taking the salt shaker from its usual place on the table, she poured a generous amount into his coffee. Then she put it back in its place and resumed eating her bagel. Remy came back a minute later and she heard him place the spoon beside her tray.

"There you go" he said.

"Thanks" she answered with a little smile, then took the spoon and began eating her fruit. She heard Remy drink his coffee and bit back a grin. The spitting sound she'd been waiting for a came a second later.

"Merde! What the hell's wrong with this?" he swore disgustedly. "It tastes like it's got salt in it" then he paused. "Funny Rogue, very funny" he said darkly.

She gave up fighting it and grinned. "Yes, thank you. I thought it was" she said cheekily.

"Well since you seem to like salt so much, I think you should drink this and I'll have that juice" he said, and Rogue grabbed the glass with her bare hand.

"I don't think so, Cajun" she smirked. "Unless you'd like me to be blowing up more of the cafeteria today."

Remy sighed. "Do we have to go on like this? I already said I was sorry for yesterday. I don't know what more you want."

"Do you think I like the idea of someone spending time with me because they have to? If you hadn't been ordered to be here by the court, I'm sure this is the last place you'd want to be" Rogue snapped. She didn't like having to play nice with him or anyone else, and resented this entire situation. So why should she suffer alone?

"You're right. I am here because I have to be. I don't see why we can't just make the best of it though. I think we could probably be friends if you'd let us" he said calmly.

"What's the point? You'll come here every day, put in your time, and then when the year's up you'll go back to concentrating on spending time with your mushroom and practicing being the Prince of Thieves" she said sarcastically. "It's not like you or any of the others actually care."

"You haven't given me a chance to, Rogue; and I bet you never gave the others a chance either. You make it very hard to get along with you. Do you like being alone? I'm thinking you prefer it to avoid touching people but you shouldn't have to live that way. We can look out for ourselves, don't push everyone away."

Rogue bit her lip. Remy had seen part of the problem. Being trapped like this by her eyes and her skin made her feel vulnerable and so she'd rather avoid others to prevent accidents. Besides, what was the point of getting close to someone who'd only be here temporarily? When his time was up he'd be gone and she'd be alone again. It would be so nice to have a friend again though. She missed the kids she had grown up with back in Mississippi. Did she really have to antagonize everyone? She didn't like the idea of letting her guard down though. It had been up for so long it had become habit. Perhaps she could give him a trial period, and see how he does? If she decided she truly didn't like him then she could go back to making him miserable.

She finished her fruit cup and went back to her bagel. "I suppose I could give it a try" she said eventually. "I'll give it a trial period, and see how it goes. If I don't think it's going well then all bets are off."

Remy sighed. "Well, at least you're willing to give it a shot" he said. "Does this mean I don't have to start testing my food before I eat or drink?"

Rogue smirked. "Yes, for now."

"Good" Remy replied, and she heard a little sigh of relief. "So what do you want to do today?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Anything would beat yesterday though."

"I don't know if I'm quite ready to go on another walk with you, but I think you need to get out of here for awhile. You ever ride a motorcycle before?"

"No, I haven't" Rogue said hesitantly.

"Well there really isn't much to it; you just sit behind me and hold on. Do you think you can handle that?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment. Ride a motorcycle. Go speeding down a street with the wind in her hair. This would require touching him though, more touch than she'd had since Irene died. This was only the second day she'd known him, was she ready to get that close to a person she barely knew? She did know him though; his thoughts were in her head. While he may be a ladies' man, what she had absorbed from him showed her that he would never take advantage of a girl. Besides, no one else was offering to take her on a motorcycle. She might never get this opportunity again.

"Okay" she said at last, a slightly nervous smile on her face. "I'll go."

"Great" Remy replied. "Come on, take your tray up and we'll get out of here."

Rogue nodded, put on her gloves and brought up her tray, then she and Remy walked out of the cafeteria and left the building. He led her outside to where his motorcycle was parked. Rogue folded up her cane. "Do you have somewhere you can put this?" she asked.

"Yes" he said, taking it from her. She heard the sound of something opening, and figured there was probably some kind of compartment on the motorcycle. "I'm going to put a helmet on your head" she heard him say, and then felt the slightly heavy helmet go onto her head. He adjusted the fit and secured the strap carefully, then drew his hands away. "Is that too tight?"

"No" Rogue shook her head. "What about you though?"

"Oh, I keep two helmets for when Belle rides with me" he said, and a moment later she heard him sit on the motorcycle. "Come sit behind me" he said. Rogue reached out and found his shoulder, then felt around for the back of the motorcycle. Having judged how high up it was, she climbed carefully on.

"Now put your arms around my waist and hang on" Remy said, starting up the cycle. The roar of the engine startled her at first, but she wrapped her arms around him and held on. It felt strange to hold someone like this; it was almost like she was hugging him. The last year had been hugless; no one wanted to hold her, no one wanted to touch her. Not really knowing anyone very well, even the other residents of the home, she didn't want them to touch her either. Too great of a risk for accidents.

Remy drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. She could hear other cars going past them; a little muffled with the helmet and the noise of the engine, but still audible. They went faster and the wind blew by. It felt great. She didn't feel connected to anything but him and motorcycle. Was this what flying was like? A happy laugh escaped her. This was wonderful. They were flying down the street, the sun warm in her face. Remy was very solid; it didn't feel like he had a bit of fat on him. She supposed that in his line of work he had to keep in shape.

She didn't know where they were going, or if they were really going anywhere. It didn't really matter though; it was the journey, not the destination that was important here. Knowing Remy wouldn't be able to see her, she tipped her head back and smiled up at the sky; loving this feeling of speeding through the air. She didn't want to stop, just to keep going; go and go and go, leave New Orleans far behind and end up somewhere far away; anywhere was fine as long as it was far from here. New Orleans was the home of her heartbreak; it had buried her only family and left her alone and helpless in the world. She knew this was only fancy though; sooner or later Remy would turn around and start back to the home and her unending routine. She could pretend though, and even though it was only momentary she was thankful to Remy for this flight.


	8. Getting Back to Nature

AN

AN: Hello again. If you've stayed with me this long then you already know how I am, so I won't offer any excuses other than the usual. I am sorry though. Alas, I still don't own the X-Men; probably won't any time soon either, since I'm a poor college student.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy was silent as they rode down the street; the wind blowing by would have made it hard for her to hear him anyway. He hadn't really thought of where to go when he'd suggested the ride; he had just wanted to get out of there. Rogue hadn't seemed to mind the idea, so maybe things would go okay, or at least better than the attempt at walking yesterday. Where to go though? They couldn't just ride around the city all day. Someplace outside, as the idea of taking her to a mall or something like that had disaster written all over it. Someplace quiet, without a lot of people; as anti-social as she was, she'd be happier away from others. Perhaps a park? A smile crossed Remy's face. He knew just the place. Not too far away, it had nice soft, squishy grass; perfect for running one's hands or feet through. Rogue would like that. He bet she hadn't had the opportunity to walk barefoot in the grass in ages. There was a pretty pond, and while she couldn't see them, she'd be able to hear the very vocal ducks that called the place home.

The more he thought about it, the better the idea sounded. Rogue would be away from the home, in a nice, pretty, quiet place where hopefully she could relax, and if she was relaxed perhaps she might let down her guard a little, or at least be more civil to him. Even better, this would be a place that hopefully she didn't know, so it was less likely that she'd disappear on him. Besides, Remy hadn't been to the park for awhile, and it would be a nice opportunity for him to relax, too.

Remy slowed as they came to the turn into the park, and he could feel Rogue's arms tighten around him as they turned. It was different than riding with Belle; she was confident where Rogue was awkward, and subtly distracted him with her hands as they rode, despite his repeatedly asking her not to. Then again, it was Rogue's first time on a bike, and he had to expect that she'd be a bit nervous, more so than if she were in a car. The long gravel drive emptied into a parking lot that was vacant except for a couple of cars. Those were most likely joggers getting in their morning exercise. Finding a spot close to the grass, Remy parked the bike.

"We're here now", he said, and felt Rogue's arms let go of him.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"We're at a park" Remy said, removing his helmet. "Thought you might like an alternative to your usual 'walks'." He got off the bike and put his helmet away, then reached for hers. "I'm taking your helmet off", he said, knowing how jumpy she was.

"'kay" Rogue said quietly, and when he had removed it, she got off the bike and waited for him to return her cane.

Remy handed it to her with a faint smile, she seemed a bit unsure of herself, and it was probably mean of him, but he couldn't help gloating to himself that they were in a situation where she wasn't in control, he was. Mean or not, if it got her to behave a little and not be such a pain in his ass, he was all for it. He moved toward the grass.

"There's a short curb a couple of feet in front of you, then it's just grass" he said.

Rogue nodded, seemingly willing to not argue with him for once as she found her way to the grass. "So what's so great about this park?" she asked, the usual tap of her cane now a muffled thud as it hit the grass.

Remy shrugged, not caring that she couldn't see it. "Well other than the fact that it's not that oh so wonderful place you live in" he commented with a touch of sarcasm, "it's got a pond, ducks, lots of trees, and very few people."

A little smile broke free on Rogue's face. "Ducks are good. I like ducks."

"Oh, so you don't play tricks on them like you do to us poor people?" Remy joked.

"Like I said, I _like_ ducks."

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue was surprised at Remy's thoughtfulness. Bike ride, park, trees, pond….ducks…. those and the warm sun all combined to make what could be a lovely day. He seemed determined already to do well during his 'trial period'. She hadn't even had to do much to him either. Of course the fact that guilt from yesterday and that he couldn't quit without going back to jail probably helped. This was still really nice though and she was going to enjoy it since she didn't know how long it would last. So she followed him through grass that felt soft and springy until he stopped a minute or two later. He hadn't said anything else, so she didn't know he had stopped until her cane slapped against his ankle. She heard him jump to the side, muttering something in French that her memories of him translated for her as being something she'd prefer to ignore.

"Your Tante would knock you upside the head if she heard you talking like that" Rogue said with a smirk. She supposed she should feel guilty about looking at his memories, but the thoughts were already at the back of her mind and she figured she might as well use them. Besides, it was his fault that they were there in the first place. Call it revenge.

"Well she isn't here to hear it, and she won't be hearing about it, so it looks like my head is safe, doesn't it?" Remy commented, and she heard him sit down on the grass. She remained standing, unsure of where they were.

"Have a seat" he said. "We're next to a tree near the pond, which is a few yards away. No ducks at the moment, but they always show up eventually."

Rogue folded up her cane and carefully sat on the ground. It was a little uneven since they were near a tree; she could feel a few roots underneath her as she sat. It wasn't really uncomfortable though, and just emphasized the fact that she was outside and away from the home. The park was rather quiet; traffic was a hum in the distance, and other than a light breeze, birds and the occasional scuffle of what she assumed were squirrels, there was little other sound. The air was about as good as one could get for living in a large city; she took a breath and smiled a little. It definitely beat the air at the home, which always smelled faintly like a hospital.

"This is nice" she said after a few minutes. From the sounds coming from Remy's direction she guessed that he had just sat back against the tree.

"Yeah" he said idly. "I'd come here sometimes to avoid Tante Mattie when she was in a mood to clean. Still do" he laughed. "You know, this place has really nice grass" he said, and Rogue gave a snort; he sounded like someone trying to sell her drugs. "I'm serious!" Remy protested. "Nice, soft and squishy. Heaven for the bare foot. You should try it."

Rogue glared at him. He had to be kidding, right? There was no way in hell she was going to take her gloves or shoes off in public.

"Don't give me that look" Remy said, sounding a bit exasperated. "There's no one here but you, me and the squirrels, and I can't speak for the squirrels but I have no intention of touching you again like that. It was stupid and I'm trying to make up for it. It's perfectly safe here. When's the last time you got to walk barefoot in the grass, huh? You'll love it."

Rogue wasn't sure what to say. It was very, very tempting. Going barefoot in the grass is one of those childhood pleasures that never goes out of style, no matter how old you get. She smiled a little, as she remembered playing in sprinklers on lawns at various friends' houses as a child, before the accident. Oh, what she wouldn't give for those little pleasures again……

Remy must have seen her smile, because his voice took on a coaxing tone. "Come on Rogue", he teased, "you know you want to. I'll sit right here and not move. You can even poke me with that cane to make sure I stay here if you want."

But she was being offered that little pleasure again now, wasn't she? Yeah, so it wasn't under the circumstances she would have preferred, which was to be free and home and playing in her own yard, seeing the grass with her own eyes, but she was discovering that you have to take what you can get, and she didn't know when she'd have this opportunity again.

"Oh I suppose" she said, starting to strip off her gloves.

"Great!" Remy said, the smile showing in his voice.

With the gloves now on the ground, Rogue took off her shoes and socks, and laid them next to the gloves. Then she sank her bare fingers and toes into the grass and a happy sigh escaped her. The grass was just as he said; cool and soft against her skin, the edges of the grass tickling her sensitive feet. She just sat there for a few minutes, running her fingers through the grass, feeling the ground, tiny rocks, little pieces of leaf and twig mixed in occasionally. Suddenly she laughed as a tickling sensation moved across her foot. Her skin was always covered with cloth so it was very sensitive. _Must be a bug or something_, she thought to herself. _Better be safe and ask though. _

"Ummm, Remy…what's crawling on my foot?" Rogue asked curiously.

He paused a moment and she heard him shift, probably to get a closer look. "It's just an ant" he said finally.

"Oh. Cool." Ants were fine; she had no problem with ants. Bugs didn't really bother her at all, really. She hadn't tried it on animals, but she had yet to absorb a bug, which she was rather thankful for. What on earth did bugs think about, anyway?

Apparently Remy was curious about this also.

"So, why aren't you absorbing it, Rogue?" he asked. She hadn't heard him shift back to his original position, so she guessed she was watching the ant crawl on her foot. She wasn't about to stop it; it wasn't hurting anything, just going along on its own ant business. Besides, it was a living creature, it was touching her, and it wasn't being hurt. She liked that. In response to Remy's question, she just shrugged.

"Dunno, for some reason I can't hurt bugs."

"That's probably a good thing. I'd imagine having a bug in your head would be weird."

"I know. Do bugs even think? I can't imagine going around through life, not thinking."

Remy snorted. "I see plenty of people who do that every day."

Rogue had to chuckle at that. "Yeah, too many. I can think of several just at the home."

Finally the tickling sensation stopped and she assumed that the ant had crawled off her foot and gone on his antly way. Grabbing her cane, she stood up and took a few hesitant steps and wanted to just laugh at how perfectly wonderful the grass felt against her bare feet. Remy was right; it was cool and soft, with bits of it coming up between her toes as she slowly walked. Facing away from him, she grinned; this was just great. She didn't want him to see her too happy though and think that he could win her over by just taking her to a park. That would be too easy. Did she want him to win her over? No, since eventually he'd go away and she'd be stuck by herself with the idiots at the home again. But he had kept what she had done to him on their walk yesterday secret, and now he was taking her out away from the home, and letting her have her gloves and socks off. He couldn't be all that bad. Maybe she really could give him a chance. Even if she'd be alone again later, maybe she could enjoy herself first; she really did owe it to herself, and isn't that what the point of having a companion was, anyway?

The grass was very nice, and she walked around on it for a couple of minutes, cane out as always, until she wondered where the pond was. She wanted to dip her feet in the water and feel mud squish between her toes. "Remy?", she asked, needing to hear his voice to orient herself as she had lost track of where she was a little while enjoying her walk.

"Oui, over here" came the response to her left.

"Where's the pond? I want to wade a little."

"About twenty feet to your right. It's a gradual slope, no sudden drops."

"Cool. Thanks" she responded, and turning her right counted off steps until she felt cool soft mud beneath her feet. It was nice soft silty mud, not slimy and icky. Taking another couple of steps she felt water lap against her feet and gasped. It was a little colder than she expected, but still felt wonderful. Feeling childish, she kicked her feet in the water and grinned at the resulting splash. The next small wave came in and got the hem of her pants wait. Hopefully it would dry by the time she got back; she wasn't sure what Candace would say to her going out and running around parks barefoot. Rogue just stood there though, feeling the cool water surround her feet, making her sink a little into the mud. This was the best outing she'd had since she came to the home, she decided. The last time she'd had anywhere near such a good time was before…… she couldn't dwell on those things right now, she thought, or Irene; at least not with Remy around.

A noise from the sky made her instinctively look up, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see anything. Coming closer, she heard the unmistakable sound of ducks; apparently coming to the pond for a nap or a snack.

"Well, here come your friends, Rogue" Remy commented from over by the tree.

This was cool; she had missed hearing ducks. One by one she could hear them land on the water; the occasional rustle of wings told her they were settling in. She was going to make a remark about the superiority of duck over human company when she felt something soft land in her hair. Disgusted at what she knew she'd find but not being able to resist, she cautiously stuck a couple of fingers into her hair and had them come back sticky. Rogue wiped them hastily on her jeans as she heard Remy start to laugh from the tree.

"You may like ducks" he said between bouts of laughter, "but are you sure they like you?"

Several anatomically impossible comments went through her mind.

O-o-o-o-O


	9. Not quite 20 Questions

AN

AN: Oh good, nice to know people are still reading (_does a little happy dance_). I will just leave you with a couple of thoughts. 1. I do not, and have never owned the X-Men. 2. Sleep is highly overrated. 3. David Tennant is just too hot for words to describe.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy had tried not to laugh. Really, he had. But the look on Rogue's face when that duck plopped on her head was just too funny. The culprit was now floating on the pond, preening his feathers and looking very innocent. And that made Remy laugh even harder. From the look on Rogue's face he was really in for it. Her face had developed a glare that he swore could probably turn flesh to stone, and he expected steam to come out of her ears any minute.

"It's not funny, damnit!" Rogue burst out, stopping short of a full yell. "How the hell am I supposed to get this out of my hair?"

"Don't get mad at me, _chere_" Remy protested. "I'm not the one who plopped on your head", and finished by laughing again.

"No, but you're the one laughing your ass off at me. And you're also the one who's going to get a lecture from Candace if she thinks you've been taking me to places where I could possibly cause trouble."

Remy took a deep breath, and managed to stop laughing. He really would prefer not to get lectured by Candace. Anything that rated a lecture could get put on a report to his parole officer. "Why should she care if you get bird shit in your hair though? Didn't anything like that happen when your other companions took you out?" Frankly he thought Candace was paranoid.

"They never took me out" Rogue retorted, and bent down to rinse her fingers off in the pond.

"Why didn't they ever…..oh wait, never mind" Remy started to ask, then answered his own question. "None of them wanted to inflict you on the general population."

"Actually Swamp Rat, Candace told them she didn't think it was safe for me to be out in public, seeing as I couldn't control my power" Rogue said bitterly, and dried her hand off on her pants. "Now how do I get this out of my hair?"

Remy sighed. "Don't move. I'll be right back." Getting up from what had been a comfortable spot against the tree, he heard

"Not like I'm going anywhere like this" muttered behind him as he walked back to the parking lot.

At his bike, he grabbed a pair of gloves from the compartment that held the helmets, and put them on as he returned to the pond. "Okay" he said, coming up next to her. "I want you to bend over and tip your head forward a bit. I've got a pair of gloves on, and I'm going to rinse the crap out of your hair. Alright?"

Rogue didn't really look too happy with the idea, but apparently the desire to have her hair clean won out, and she bent over, leaning on her cane for balance. "Are you a part-time hairdresser too?"

"What can I say, I'm talented" Remy commented, and started rinsing her hair. Thankfully the pond water was relatively clean, and he figured it would do until she could get back to the home and take a shower.

"Since you obviously aren't that great at thieving, it's good to have a backup" Rogue said with a snicker.

"Oops" Remy said as he _accidentally_ splashed water in her face. "So sorry about that."

"Sure you are" Rogue snapped back after wiping her face. Then she straightened up just enough to smack him in the leg with her cane.

"Hey! Be nice. I'm the one who's washing your hair. It would just get stiff and harder to get out if I left it in there. _And_ you'd have to go back to the home with bird shit in your hair. You could at least say thank you" Remy said, pausing a moment to rub the now sore spot on his shin.

"Umm…thanks" Rogue said in a softer voice, and lowered her head back down.

"You're welcome" he replied, and finished cleaning her hair. She had very pretty hair; he couldn't feel it because of the gloves, but from the way it slid between his fingers he knew it was very smooth. She probably had a hard time doing anything with it, he thought to himself. Mercy would complain on occasion that nothing would stay in her hair because of how smooth it was, and that she couldn't do anything with it. So he assumed Rogue had the same problem. On the plus side though, it made it easier for him to clean. Finally he couldn't find any more traces in her hair, and brushed some stray drops of water away before letting go.

"Okay, you're all set" he said, and backed away. Rogue straightened and gingerly felt around her head. She must have been pleased with the results, because she just shook her head to dry it. Remy almost commented about how she looked like a dog drying herself, but thought better of it. He was getting a big enough collection of bruises on his legs as it was.

"Is Mademoiselle pleased?"

"Yep. Note to self: Wear a hat next time I go to the pond" Rogue splashed her feet to rinse off the worst of the mud, then started back to the tree.

"Your socks and shoes are…….right in front of you" Remy said, figuring she might not be able to distinguish the sound of shoes from grass when they were hit with a cane.

"Thanks" Rogue sat down and folded up her cane. By this time Remy had returned to his spot beneath the tree and made himself comfortable again.

"So what now?" Rogue laid back on the grass and would appear to be cloud gazing, if it weren't for the fact that she couldn't see the clouds. Which was a shame, as there were some nice fluffy white clouds in the sky today.

"I don't know" Remy said, and gazed up at the sky. Just to his left was a cloud that if you looked at it just right resembled a seal…..or maybe a platypus; it was hard to tell from this angle. "Do we have to be doing something?"

Rogue paused a moment. "No, I guess not. The other companions were always wanting to make sure I was doing something though, so I figured it was required."

"Nah, I never saw anything in the job description about having to do things; it seems like they just want me to keep you company and keep you out of their hair. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

"Oh, okay. Well I can't think of anything I want to do right now. You?"

Remy continued to look up at the sky. "Nope; seems like a perfectly good day to be lazy bums." The seal/platypus was moving on to be followed by a cloud that was just generic cloud-shaped.

"I suppose. It's going to take awhile for my feet to dry anyway. Might as well stay here."

"True. Wet socks in shoes are quite unpleasant" Remy commented calmly, only half listening as the beginnings of what could be a snail drifted into view.

There was silence for a minute or two. "What are you doing?" Rogue finally asked.

"Watching the clouds."

"Oh. Can you see anything?" There was a wistful tone to Rogue's voice, and Remy felt a little bad for enjoying something she couldn't partake in right in front of her.

"Well, there's a snail going across the sky right now, and a minute ago there was a platypus."

"I miss cloud-gazing." Remy glanced over and there was a faint smile on her face. "This is the part where you ask me how long I've been blind and express sympathy. Don't bother. It's been ten years and sympathy never did anyone any good."

"Ummm….ok" Remy wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Yeah, she was right; he had been just about to do what she said. It seemed the normal and proper thing to do under the circumstances. She definitely wasn't the normal and proper type so far though, and it made it a little hard for him to decide what to do with her. "So what can I ask? Can't just sit around all the time without even talking; it'd be pretty damn boring."

"Ummm….well…….ever play twenty questions?"

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue couldn't believe she just said that. Twenty questions? That was the kind of thing silly teenage girls played at sleepovers, not for…..well, what were they anyway? Remy wasn't her friend, but he wasn't really an enemy either. Enemies didn't protect you from paranoid bitchy social workers by keeping secrets for you; didn't defend you against those same paranoid bitchy social workers, and most certainly didn't take you to parks and clean bird shit out of your hair. She hated to admit it, but maybe Remy was an okay guy. She wasn't about to tell him that though; he seemed to have enough ego as it was. He was definitely right though; they'd have to talk about something eventually.

"Twenty questions, didn't that used to be a game show?" Remy asked.

"Yeah, it's a game at parties now" Rogue hesitantly, feeling a little silly.

"So we're going to do party games?" Remy was snickering now.

Rogue scowled. "Well, do you have any better ideas?" Here she was, trying to be friendly, or at least civil, by starting up a conversation, and he was laughing at her!

"How about we get to know each other a little better? If either of us decides we want to stop being lazy bums, it would be nice to have an idea of what to do."

Rogue's scowl remained. "So you want me to pour out my life story to you? That's none of your business."

"Not if you don't want to. I was thinking more of what you like; maybe there's something we both like to do" Remy said, still in that calm voice.

"You're still watching the clouds, aren't you? What do you see now? Rogue asked curiously.

Remy paused for a moment. "Looks like a beer bottle. And you're changing the subject."

"If there's no writing on it or anything, how do you know it's a beer bottle?" Rogue smirked. "Do you drink a lot? Do you have beer on the brain?"

Remy sounded slightly indignant. "No I don't drink a lot. Even if I did, I wouldn't touch beer. I prefer bourbon. Do _you_ drink a lot?"

Rogue grinned. She loved getting a reaction out of him. "Are you kidding? Do you really think they'd let me have alcohol at the home? I can't even have books. Besides, I'm not twenty-one; you know that."

"Touchy touchy" Remy commented, and Rogue could hear amusement in his voice. "Of course I know that; you react too easily." He was silent for a moment. "What do you mean you can't have books?"

Rogue folded her arms across her chest, otherwise she'd start tearing up grass just thinking about the stupidity of the people she lived with, and the grass had done nothing to deserve that. "My books are in Braille, I have to use bare hands to read them, and you've already seen how Candace is about me having my gloves off." Really, it was just too insane.

Apparently Remy felt the same way, because he made a noise of disgust. "You've got to be kidding me; they won't even let you read? That's crazy!"

"I know. Candace still has this crazy idea that I'm going to go around touching people, or that the people there are going to come near enough to me to touch them. I'd be much happier if she'd just let me read."

Remy still sounded annoyed. "She's got to be on drugs. I mean if you were a malicious person……." He paused for a moment. "Well, there are different types of maliciousness I suppose…"

"HEY!" Rogue protested

. "Hey yourself. You're not exactly Miss Suzy Sunshine" Remy retorted. "But anyway, if you were the sort of person who was mean enough to go around touching people, I could see where she'd have reason to be paranoid. Though your attitude a lot of the time might make her think that" he muttered.

Rogue glared in his general direction.

"My point is that you're not. In fact you go out of your way to avoid people. You'd think she'd see that and not worry so much. That's just cruel to not even let you read" Remy paused. "Actually now that I think about it, you're still a minor. Aren't you supposed to be in school? Or at least have some kind of tutor?"

"Heaven forbid, I'd possibly touch my teachers and kill them" Rogue said sarcastically. "I don't know how they manage it, but there's never been any mention of my going to school or having a tutor. I think it goes back to the mutant thing. So I haven't had any schooling in over a year. I had tutors before Ir…..before I lived at the home." Rogue wasn't going to discuss Irene with him. She figured Remy probably knew about Irene and the basics of her background, but still, it was too personal to talk about with him. After a year, the ache in her heart had yet to go away.

"I'm going to talk to Candace. It's against the law to keep you out of school; I don't understand how she gets away with it."

"Don't bother, I doubt she'd listen to you" Rogue said skeptically.

"Well why not? I think it would help a lot with your boredom." Remy replied.

Rogue gave a twisted smile. "Ah, but wouldn't that put you out of a job? Then what would you do to keep yourself out of jail?"

"Rogue, I doubt a tutor could be around you enough or put up with you enough to keep you out of trouble" Remy laughed.

"You're lucky my feet are still drying, Swamp Rat. I could probably break your leg if I hit it hard enough with this cane" Rogue growled.

"Go ahead; I'd like to see you try and get back home. You don't even know where you are" Remy said, and she just knew that he was grinning.

"That place isn't my home" she snapped. "It's just where I live."

"Everyone has a home" Remy said.

"That's not true" Rogue said, her anger ebbing. "It's not just a place; you can live somewhere for however long and have it not be a home. I don't have a home, I have a room. I just board. You _have_ a home, you have a family. You don't understand….." The memories she had unwillingly taken from Remy were fading; she'd discovered over time that those were only temporary, but she still had memories of his family; people he grew up with and who loved him. It was something that if she had anything to give, she'd give it gladly to have again.

"Maybe not" Remy said quietly, and for a moment Rogue thought he was about to apologize. "But you still don't know how to get back there, so you might want to leave my leg in one piece."

She appreciated the fact that he didn't say he was sorry; she hated empty apologies. "Oh fine" she said, pretending to give up in disgust. "I'll leave your leg alone…..today at least."

"What happened to our truce?"

"Oh you're still under your trial period, that's another reason why your leg is still in one piece." Rogue smirked and folded her hands up under her head. "So anymore cool clouds up there?"

"Not much, just Candace melting into a puddle of water."

That brought a laugh out of Rogue "I'm melting, I'm melting….Oh what a world….." she said, giving a high-pitched imitation of the Wicked Witch of the West. "I wouldn't call her a witch; that's an insult to witches everywhere."

"True, true" Remy agreed. "How about a bureaucratic rat? I don't think rats have any redeeming qualities."

"No, you're right. They don't. Besides, they carry diseases. Just look at the Plague. Okay, a bureaucratic rat she is then."

Remy laughed, then was quiet for awhile; probably still watching the clouds cross the sky. It was amazing how they looked so slow from here on the ground when in actuality they were racing over the earth. Rogue just lay on the grass and listened to little waves move against the banks of the pond. They were probably the result of the ducks, who she could hear quacking quietly to each other, occasionally diving underwater for something to eat. Remy was right; it was a very nice day to be a bum. She couldn't see the sky, but the sun was warm and the slight breeze was pleasant. She didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually she heard a soft snore from Remy's direction. He had fallen asleep? Rogue smirked; it was funny. Besides, it gave her something to tease him about later. Most people who snore deny it. In the meantime though, she was left to her own devices. If she were back at the home, or in the immediate neighborhood of it, she'd go for a walk. But this was a completely unknown place, and with her luck today she'd probably end up in the pond. Besides, she didn't know if it was Remy's snoring or the bad night she'd had last night, but she found herself yawning. Maybe Remy had the right idea about this too, she thought numbly to herself. He really shouldn't be right about stuff so much though………..

O-o-o-o-O

Remy opened his eyes, feeling groggy and with the definite beginnings of a crick in his neck. _That's what I get for falling asleep against trees, _he decided silently, and straightened to stretch, feeling his vertebrae pop as they moved back into place. He couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep out here in broad daylight, with Rogue right nearby. She'd probably never let him hear the end of it. She'd probably say that he snored, too. Belle told him that all the time, but he refused to believe it. Deciding to face the music, he glanced over in Rogue's direction, but saw her lying on the grass with her eyes closed, head tilted to the side with her mouth slightly parted. He grinned with amusement and pulled his cell phone out to check the time, surprised when he discovered a couple of hours had passed. It was past lunchtime, which was confirmed when his tummy rumbled.

_I suppose we should get of here. Candace is going to have kittens. _As amusing a picture as that created, Remy didn't want to deal with the trouble that would go with it, so he sighed and got up to wake Rogue. Before doing so however, he made sure to move her cane out of her reach for his own self defense, as her first reaction would most likely to be to add to the collection of welts she was making on his legs. Gently he nudged her hip with his foot. "Wakey wakey Roguey" he said, nudging her hip again. Sure enough, she groaned, then reached her hand out to grab her cane.

"Don't call me Roguey, Swamp Rat" she muttered, then frowned. "Where's my cane?"

"I moved it" Remy said smugly. "I didn't feel like getting whacked again." Now that she was awake, he pushed it back over to her with his foot. He didn't want to get close enough for her to accidentally touch him since she still had her gloves off. "There you go. It's past lunchtime now, and we should probably get out of here before Candace has kittens. Your feet should be dry by now."

"You're assuming there's a tomcat out there desperate enough to fuck her" Rogue commented, sitting up and reaching for her cane, probably to make sure it was there. Apparently satisfied, she touched her feet then began putting her socks and shoes back on.

"Now, now Rogue" Remy chided. "Watch your language." He was amused at being able to get back at her for chastising him earlier. He almost responded in kind about her getting knocked upside the head, but he knew her foster mother was dead; there was no one in the position to give her discipline with love like his Tante did for him.

"Oh please, I've heard worse coming out of your mouth" Rogue said as she put on her gloves and stood up. "So what now?"

Remy tried to think for a moment, but was interrupted but his stomach growling again. "Well, since we've most likely missed lunch at the home, how about we grab something on the way back?"

"How sweet, LeBeau" came familiar, hostile voice from behind him "I thought you took your dates out to eat _before_ screwing, not afterwards. Or at least, that's what you did with my sister."

Remy groaned and buried his face in his hand. He didn't even have to turn around, because he knew he'd see his soon-to-be-brother-in-law, the lead candidate for Asshole of the Year, Julian Boudreaux.

O-o-o-o-O

I love cliffhangers.


	10. Flies in the Ointment

AN: It's a shame I don't own the X-Men; I could spend my time making you folks happy instead of doing things like remedial mat

AN: It's a shame I don't own the X-Men; I could spend my time making you folks happy instead of doing things like remedial math.

O-o-o-o-O

"Fuck you Julien" Remy sighed. He couldn't believe he had been lax enough to not notice anyone coming up behind them. Yes, Julien was a very talented Assassin, and trained to be quiet, but that was no excuse. What the hell was he doing here? He wasn't exactly the afternoon stroll in the park type of guy. Was he following them? Surely Julien had better things to do, even if they hated each other's guts. Besides, it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong; surely Marius's cronies in the justice system kept him up on what was going on, so he'd know what Remy's sentence was. "What do you want?"

"Such language, LeBeau," Julien clucked disapprovingly, and looked Rogue over with disdain. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood and wondered why my little sister's fiancé was slumming it in public, in broad daylight."

Rogue scowled. "Who's your _friend_, Swamp Rat?"

Remy sighed. "Rogue, this is Belle's brother, Julien. Julien, this is Rogue, the mutant I'm keeping an eye on for my community service."

"Ah, the mushroom's brother" Rogue laughed.

Julien glared at her. "Bella's not a mushroom, she's a plant….I mean it's a plant" he stumbled, and Rogue just laughed harder. Remy couldn't help but grin at this. It was fun to watch Julien get made a fool of, even if Belle got indirectly insulted as a result.

Julien recovered though. "Does 'keeping an eye on someone' include afternoon naps in the park? You two looked pretty cozy together."

"What's wrong with taking a nap? It's a nice day for it..." Remy paused. "Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? I'm doing my job, keeping the blind girl company. It's none of your damn business." He didn't mean to talk like that about Rogue, but the last thing he needed was Julien carrying tales to his sister. Belle knew what was going on, but she was also very jealous, and Remy didn't want her considering Rogue a threat, which of course she wasn't. She was just his assignment.

"I just love being talked about like I'm not here, don't you?" Rogue commented sarcastically to no one in particular. "Listen Jules, Remy here was just taking me out for a little field trip. No big deal, no reason to get your panties in a twist. Your brother in law isn't cheating on your sister with the little blind girl" she said, rolling her blank eyes. The movement looked weird to Remy, her empty eyes being moved but unable to be focused on anything.

"He's _not _my brother" Julien snapped, and Remy could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to add that he never would be, not if Julien had anything to say about it. The man truly gave Remy the creeps sometimes. The rest of the time he just wanted to see him take a long walk off a short pier, preferably while wearing concrete shoes.

"Leave Rogue out of this, Julien. If you've got something to say, say it to _me_." Remy really didn't need Rogue getting caught up in the soap opera of his upcoming marriage, and he really didn't want her getting anywhere near Julien Boudreaux. She had enough problems as it was.

"_Rogue_" Julien said, curling his lip in disgust. "Who the hell names their kid _Rogue_ anyway?"

"A better woman than whatever whelped you" the object of his disdain replied angrily. "It's times like these when I'm glad I can't see. Saves me money on the mental floss."

Remy just grinned at this. Maybe he didn't have to worry about her around Julien. If he was lucky, maybe he'd even get to see her cane him. It would be nice to see someone else on the receiving end of that thing for once. Right now Julien wasn't close enough though.

"I see why they keep this little _chienne_ locked up" Julien retorted.

_On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea_, Remy thought to himself, taking in the look on Rogue's face. The last thing he needed was Rogue getting arrested for assault, which was what was going to happen soon if Julien kept going on the way he was.

"ANYWAY" he said loudly, stepping between the two and hoping Rogue could judge from his voice that he was now in her way, "Getting back to my original question Julien, what the hell do you want?"

Julien grinned evilly. "Nothin' much. Thought I'd see how you liked doing time. Not where I'd _like_ to see you doing it, of course, but you're still under the eye of the law and doing penance for your evil deeds" he said in a holier than thou voice.

Remy snorted. "At least my 'evil deeds' don't carry the death penalty, which is what'll happen to you when you finally get caught. I hope I get to see you fry some day." Then his demon eyes glowed bright enough to show faintly behind his sunglasses. "And don't think I don't know you had something to do with my arrest Julien."

The other man tried looking innocent again. "How could I want to do something to hurt my _petite soeur_?"

"Oh please, you'd have a knife in me already if you didn't know your father would nail your head to the wall."

"And don't you ever forget it" Julien whispered, the hatred practically rolling off of him.

"Some family relationship" Rogue commented from behind Remy. "You planning to have a reception after the wedding, or funeral?"

"Rogue, stay out of it, _please_" Remy said tiredly. He really didn't need this. What he did need was a drink. He'd have to wait until he got home to have it though. Tante Mattie would skin him alive if he came home on the motorcycle with alcohol on his breath.

"Julien, either say something useful for once in your life or go away."

"Just looking out for my little sister, you know" Julien said innocently. "Can't help but be suspicious, especially with your reputation."

"Oh yes" Remy commented with a heavy degree of sarcasm "Just can't help myself. Death by sex sounded like such a good idea, too." Since he had his back turned to Rogue he didn't see the brief look of hurt cross her face.

"Death by sex?" Julien asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Nevermind" Remy said. The look didn't completely leave the other man's face, but Remy didn't notice it. He was trying to think of how he could get out of here before he punched Julien's lights out. Thankfully Rogue solved that problem for him by whacking him in the back of his leg with her cane.

"Come on, let's get out of here" she said, not able to see Remy's glare as he rubbed the sore spot, nor the grin on Julien's face at seeing Remy get beat on by a blind girl. "I thought you were going to take me out to lunch."

"Not if you're going to keep nailing me with that thing I'm not" He retorted.

"Well get me something to eat, and I'll stop" Rogue smirked.

"Fine" he said. "But you have to keep that thing to yourself for the rest of the day". Getting into one of his usual arguments with her completely distracted him from the fact that Julien was standing not too far away watching them with interest.

Rogue seemed to consider his ultimatum. "I suppose, but it had better be good food. He's not invited though" she said, waving her cane in Julien's general direction.

"Of course not" Remy said, remembering that the other man was there. "I'd prefer to keep my appetite." He flipped Julien off and started walking back to his bike.

"Turn left then keep walking straight" he told Rogue, and didn't bother to see if she was following him. She seemed more than capable of keeping up. He didn't count on Julien's hatred of being ignored though, and so was surprised when a minute later he heard a solid whacking sound and a loud yelp of pain. Turning around he saw Rogue standing with a glare on her face and her cane gripped tightly in her hand, and Julien holding his knee with an expression of severe pain on his face. Before a person could blink, Remy had two lit cards in his hand and a deadly look.

"What are you doing, Julien?" he demanded, all humor gone.

"Nothing!" the wounded man spat. "I just wanted to talk to her."

"He grabbed me" Rogue said angrily.

"You can walk home or be carried back" Remy said, the deadly look on his face deepening. "Your choice. Choose quickly."

His future brother in law gave him a look of pure hatred and started limping away.

"Best keep your little _chienne_on a leash, LeBeau" Julien said warningly.

"Keep walking Julien, and stay the hell away from her." Remy waited until Julien had gone far enough off to not be a threat before taking the charge out of his cards and putting them away in his coat.

"Come on, let's go" He said, grabbing her free hand. He wanted to get out of here before Julien got a chance to start following him. Rogue tried to protest but he didn't pay attention, just started walking her to his bike.

"Just shut up for once Rogue" he muttered, eyes kept straight ahead. "If you still have my memories then you know that man's an Assassin, and a good one. It's still up in the air who's going to take over the Guild when the old man dies, him or Belle. He could kill you right in the home if he wanted to; make it look like you slipped in the shower and no one would be any wiser. Or he could have it pinned on me, and which of us would be believed? I'm a convicted criminal, and he's never even gotten a fucking parking ticket. The judge that sentenced me is in his papa's pocket. So just come on with me Rogue, let's go get some lunch and hopefully you won't have to run into him again."

She remained quiet for a minute. "Isn't he worried about hurting his sister though?

Remy snorted. "Sure, but he wouldn't worry about it too long. That twisted little thing would love nothing better than to.……._comfort_.…..his sister" he said, feeling disgusted. The way that man looked at Belle sometimes, it made Remy's skin crawl.

"That's gross" Rogue said.

"I know" he replied. "I can't wait to get her out of that house. We're gonna get our own place, away from both of our families, then if Belle takes over from Marius, we'll run the Guilds together when our fathers retire." _And there will be the true peace _Remy thought to himself. _No more wars. Any squabbles will be handled internally. We'll have a united front._

"What would you do with Julien then?" Rogue asked curiously.

"If I had my way we'd drop him off the nearest high rise head first" he commented with a trace of malicious satisfaction. "Belle wants him to work with her though, or go to the west coast and manage affairs out there; she knows that he and I would never be able to work together. She still refuses to believe that he had anything to do with my arrest. I swear she'd forgive him anything."

"Doesn't she realize how he is though?" she asked, and he could tell from her voice that she was confused.

"I don't know. I don't think so, or if she does she's in a heavy state of denial. I sometimes think Marius knows, but doesn't want to see it. I don't want to hurt her by telling her though, she loves him very much. After we're married, and if we can get him out of New Orleans, I think it'll be okay."

Then they arrived at the bike, and Remy decided to drop the subject. "We need to change the subject though or else I'm not going to be able to eat my lunch" he said, dropping her to hand to get the helmets out. "So where do you want to eat?"

Rogue shrugged. "I don't really know any of the restaurants around here. There was a little deli that Irene and I went to before.….before I came here, but we lived on the other side of town and I couldn't tell you what the name is."

This was the first time that she had really mentioned her foster mother, and Remy was surprised.

"Well, what kind of food do you like?"

"The usual stuff, though I've had Indian a few times and that was pretty good. It can get pretty spicy."

"Can't be as spicy as my Tante's gumbo" he commented with pride.

"I don't know, you may rethink that after you've had a good vindaloo" she said with a laugh. "Today I'd just be happy with a decent sub. Sarah's a good cook, but she just can't compete with a deli."

"Deli it is then" Remy said. "Hand me your cane, we'll trade". She extended her cane out to him and put her hand out for the helmet. They settled themselves on the bike and he turned his head back after he felt her arms go around her waist. "There's this little place a few blocks away we can go. Hopefully it will be as good as your last deli" he said, and started up the bike to leave the park. _And hopefully I can get my appetite back too_ he thought to himself as they took off.

O-o-o-o-O

"_Hopefully it will be as good as your last deli"_ Rogue heard him say, and while she was sure it was a good place, she doubted it could take the place of Gil's; her and Irene's favorite little lunch stop on days when they had to go to the hospital for Irene's checkups. They wouldn't go on the days of the chemo treatments, because of the nausea that the drugs left her foster mother with, but on just routine checkups they'd usually stop by the deli afterwards, have a sandwich at one of the patio tables outside, and listen to the sounds of the city. There would sometimes be street musicians, and Irene would often drop a dollar or two for them. Like the bards of long ago, she explained, these people sang for their supper, and should be thanked for their music.

No, it wouldn't be replaced, but as she had told Remy, it would be better than the cafeteria food, and she wouldn't have to listen to the quiet mutterings of the other residents as they collectively ignored her. Despite the unpleasantness a few minutes ago, Rogue found herself hungry, and she looked forward to lunch regardless of who the company was. _Well, except for that creep_ she thought to herself. What a sick fuck. She didn't know Remy's fiancée at all, but she didn't envy her having Julien for a brother. She could still hear his voice; rich and smooth as butter, but with a maliciousness to it that reminded her of a villain in a movie; the kind that passed along in society unnoticed until he pulled off whatever his scheme was. He'd pissed her off talking to her the way he had, and when he'd grabbed her arm, well that had been the last straw. The crack her cane had made when it hit his knee had been very satisfying. Remy had seemed to enjoy her taunting him too, if the sound of his voice was any indication, and given the loathing they seemed to have for each other she was glad to amuse him. She couldn't get over how he had reacted when Julien grabbed her though. He had sounded dangerous, and she still got a slight chill replaying it in her mind. Had he really been that concerned for her? Of course if anything happened to her he'd be up the proverbial creek without a paddle, but still...it had been a pretty heavy reaction. No one had ever stood up for her like that before, and it raised him up a notch in her estimation of him. She wouldn't tell him, and it wouldn't save him from her cane if he deserved it, but it was progress in the right direction. In the right direction of what though? Maybe, dare she think, a friend? Lying awake last night, she'd had time to do some thinking. She'd be turning 18 eventually, and when she did she'd be free, able to leave the home unless the government did something stupid before then, and she'd be alone. No family, no friends. Nothing. Maybe though, maybe Remy could help her a little; point her in the right direction to finding a job and an apartment. The events of today just strengthened the idea that she shouldn't push him away completely. _I can't believe I'm letting myself change my mind about him so quickly_ she thought. But why was she determined that she _needed_ to push him away? This past year, the heartache of losing Irene, the neglect and humiliation of the home, all making her want curl up inside and hide. The home wasn't the world though, was it? Why was she allowing it to define her world, how she would treat herself and others? Remy wasn't them. He didn't treat her like she was a freak, like she was a danger. He didn't have a problem giving back what she gave him. Why shouldn't she actually give him a chance?

This passed through her mind as they drove through the streets, and it made her feel better, allowing her to lift her face and feel the warmth of the sun again. The rush of the wind, the sound of the engine and the cars around them was very welcome, so very welcome as a change from the silence of the home. Too bad she had to go back to it eventually, but for now she'd enjoy herself.

The ride seemed to end too quickly, and before she knew it they had parked and she let go of Remy so they could get off of the bike. After putting the helmets away he handed her the cane but took her hand in his arm.

"Let me walk with you" he said, and she was glad he didn't use words like 'lead' or 'guide'. "It's not very spacious in there, and I can guarantee you'll be bumping into everything."

So Rogue tucked her hand more securely into the crook of his arm; yes, she didn't like being led, but she also didn't like tripping and bumping things and looking like a fool. She had to admit, was rather gentlemanly of him, and she kept the cane folded up and tucked under her arm as they walked into the deli. The yummy smells of meats, cheeses and fresh baked bread filled her senses, and her stomach growled. Fellow customers chattered around them, and a pop station played in the background. They stopped in front of what Rogue assumed was the counter and Remy let go of her hand.

"So what would you like?" he asked cheerfully, seeming to have recovered his good mood of earlier. "They've got pretty much whatever you could want on a sandwich."

Rogue thought for a moment. "I'll take Italian meats on French bread" she said finally. "With onions, oil and vinegar, and extra hot ham."

"Well it's obvious you don't have a hot date tonight" he laughed, and she poked him. He gave her order to the clerk who greeted them a moment later, and requested a pastrami sub.

"I thought a good Cajun boy like you would be ordering a po'boy" she teased.

"You shouldn't pay attention to stereotypes Rogue" Remy said as they waited for their food. "Yeah I like traditional Southern food, but man can't live on shrimp alone, and Gil makes a damn good pastrami sandwich."

"Sooo sorry" she chuckled.

Remy gave a snort. "You? Apologize? I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Hey, keep it up and you won't live through the day" she warned him mockingly.

"Good luck walking back then" was Remy's smug reply. "Can you bring the food to our table?" he asked the clerk. "I want to make sure my friend finds a seat okay."

The clerk agreed, and Remy took Rogue's hand again.

"Sorry, but I've only got two hands and I didn't want you stumbling around while I carried the tray."

Rogue just nodded. He hadn't pointed out the fact that she was blind to the clerk, just sounded normal. For a guy who had never worked with the blind before, he seemed to be learning quickly. And he had called her his friend. After walking across the room, carefully navigating around tables, he stopped.

"There's a chair right in front of you" he said, and placed her hand on the table. She found the chair with her other hand and sat down, laying her folded up cane on the table.

"What do you want to drink?" he asked.

"Iced tea please" she replied, and he went to get their drinks. Finally Remy, the drinks and the food returned, and he sat down to eat. As usual Rogue took off her gloves then passed her hand carefully over her plate to find where everything was. Apparently the sub came with chips and she munched on a couple before taking a bite of her sandwich. Ahhh, heaven. In this case heaven was salami, pepperoni and two types of ham, with provolone cheese and veggies on crusty bread. Nope, not quite as good as Gil's, though Rogue thought that probably had more to do with the quality of the company rather than the food. Gil's did have better bread though.

"So are you having fun so far? Remy asked after a few minutes of eating in companionable silence.

She had to laugh. "Okay, let me see. I got birdshit in my hair, had to put up with you washing it out in public, and then get harassed and grabbed by an obvious candidate for perv of the year, and you want to know if I'm having fun?" she paused for a moment then smirked. "Of course I'm having fun. Nothing interesting like this happens at the home."

"Heh, I can't imagine the place surviving if it did."

"That's true" Rogue replied. "I wouldn't be sorry to see it go though."

"Ah, but where would you go if it did?" Remy asked.

"I don't know" she said musingly. "I don't have my diploma yet, and I don't know what GED programs have in the way of Braille study materials. I'd probably end up in whatever type of facility the state decided to send me too next."

"Not right, not right" Remy said in disapproval. "You need to be in school. I'm definitely having a talk with Candace when we get back. You need to be able to take care of yourself when you leave there. They can't expect you to stay forever though."

"I think they might though" she replied quietly. "There's talk among the others, even among Candace and the staff, about what should be done with mutants. They're talking about groups that are lobbying the government to have laws passed about mutants. Some groups want us locked up or tagged so they can track of us. Like we were animals or something. Candace talks about how she wants the best for everyone, but sometimes I think she agrees with them. It makes me angry Remy, but at the same time it scares me too." And it did, it truly did. If she thought she was locked up now, how would it be in a facility just for mutants, possibly not ever let go, all for the sake of 'public safety'?

"I know" Remy said in agreement. "I've been hearing the same things. The main group, the 'Friends of Humanity", is the worst of the bunch. Some people are saying that they're taking mutants and conducting experiments on them, like rats in a lab. And nobody seems to be doing anything to stop them. I heard someone mention a group of mutants up north once, who were trying to stop things like this, but I don't know if I believe it."

"What, like a bunch of superheroes or something? That's crazy" Rogue laughed.

"Well like I said, I don't know if I believe it. Someone needs to start talking sense to these guys though, otherwise things could get ugly." Rogue finished half her sandwich and took a few swallows of her iced tea.

"How do we keep ending up on these depressing subjects?" she asked finally.

"Don't know, there are a lot of them to talk about though, it seems like. Well do you know any jokes or anything?" Remy said through a mouthful of food.

She clucked at him in disapproval. "Didn't your Tante ever tell you not to chew with your mouth full?"

"Nyah"

"Pffffft. Fine. Here's a joke. 'Two guys walked into a bar. The third guy ducked.'"

Remy paused a moment. "I don't get it."

"Oh brother. Here it is again. 'Two guys walked into a bar. The third guy ducked. I know it's an alien concept for you, but think about it."

"Aaarrrrrgh. I get it, I get it" Remy groaned. "That was bad." "Heh heh heh. Of course it was. I haven't told that joke in a long time"

Rogue grinned. "Now you tell one."

"I don't have to. I've got you sitting in front of me."

"Ohhhhh, you are so getting it when we get out of here."

"Now now, be nice to the designated driver" Remy chided her.

"Oh fine, I'll behave. Until we get back at least" she said with an evil smirk.

"Are you sure I'm on a trial period?" Remy asked with what sounded like mock worry in his voice.

"Of course you are. I would have smacked you already otherwise."

"I feel so grateful" he replied, and she could definitely hear him mocking her this time.

"Hey, I think I'm behaving here" she protested. "Yeah, because I promised you food."

"Well it's not like I'd do it out of the good of my heart."

"Yeah, then I'd know you were lying."

Rogue couldn't help it. She started laughing at this. She really hadn't had this much fun in a long time. "Seriously, I am having fun."

"Good" Remy replied, and she could tell he was pleased by this.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm full" he said eventually, and Rogue nodded agreement.

"Do you want me to get you a bag to wrap up the rest of your sandwich?"

"Yes, please" she said, finishing off her iced tea. Remy got up and came back a couple of minutes later; she could hear him wrapping up their sandwiches. She got up and grabbed her folded up cane from the table. Remy took her hand and they walked out of the deli. After packing the food away in the bike's compartment they got themselves settled on it.

"It's starting to get late in the afternoon. Probably time to head back" he said.

"I suppose" she replied, really not looking forward to going back to the home. "Sorry _chere_, not much I can do about that" he said apologetically, and started up the bike. He seemed to be taking the scenic route back though, because it took a lot longer than it had to go to the park. Rogue wasn't complaining though, she was enjoying the feel of wind and sun though, not knowing when she'd get to do this again. Eventually they arrived though and after packing the helmets back away Rogue unfolded her cane and they headed into the building.

"What do we do with your sandwich?" Remy asked her quietly as they walked.

"Let's go to the cafeteria, Sarah will let me put it in the fridge."

"Okay."

The head cafeteria worker was preparing for dinner when the two came into the room. "Hey Rogue, where have you been? Candace was looking for you; you missed lunch." It was kind of nice to hear the concern in Sarah's voice.

"Oh we went out to the park and stopped for a late lunch on the way back" Remy said. "Rogue couldn't finish hers though. Can she keep the rest in the fridge here?" he asked politely.

"I was hoping to have it either for breakfast or lunch tomorrow" Rogue added.

"Sure" Sarah said, and Rogue could hear her come over to them. "That's no problem. Probably better than what we'll be having anyway." She assumed that Remy gave her the sandwich because she walked away again. "Remy, Candace wanted you to come see her when you got back" Sarah said as she headed towards what sounded like the direction of the kitchen.

"Alright" Remy said, and Rogue could tell he didn't sound too pleased about it. "Do you want me to walk you to your room or do you want to go back on your own?" he asked her.

"Nah, you go on ahead" she said. "I'll be fine." Candace probably wasn't too happy with Remy right now, for taking her out and not letting anyone know where they were going. "The less you keep her waiting, the better."

"You're probably right. I'll see you tomorrow then. Hopefully it won't be quite as 'interesting' as it was today" Remy laughed, and started to walk off.

"That's assuming you survive until tomorrow. Good luck" Rogue called, and headed to her room.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy turned his head and watched Rogue walk away, cane tapping, and the smile left his face. With a sigh, he continued walking to Candace's office. Yeah, she probably wanted to talk to him, but he had a few words to say to her too.

O-o-o-o-O


	11. The Swamp Rat vs The Bureaucratic Rat

AN

AN: As usual, you make me gleeful with your flattery (definitely don't stop). And naturally I don't own the X-Men. But would I be committing blasphemy if I said that David Tennant is giving Remy LeBeau some serious competition for my affections? sigh (Sorry but I'm on a serious Doctor Who kick right now)

O-o-o-o-O

Remy didn't bother hurrying to Candace's office; he wasn't going to dance to her tune no matter how much trouble he was in with the law. Instead he took his time, he hadn't really spent much time here by himself, so he hadn't truly noticed what a depressing place it was. Yes, it was decorated in bright colors with pictures of flowers and peaceful landscapes on the walls, but the faint medicinal smell and relative quiet reminded him that it wasn't much more than an asylum. The inhabitants were stored away, kept shut up away because they had nowhere else to go and in most cases were unable to take care of themselves. He hated seeing Rogue stuck here. He could see now why they had requested someone to 'deal' with her. She had too much life to be socked away in a place like this. Yeah, she could be annoying, and that cane of hers was going to be the death of him, but he was starting to see that her attitude was more defense than anything else. She was alone for too long after being hurt, and she didn't seem to know how to let people around her anymore. Not that he could blame her, after being here.

Despite the non-hurrying pace, Candace's office came upon him far too fast, and he didn't bother knocking as he entered.

"You called?" he asked, leaning in the doorway.

She looked up from her computer, startled. "Most people knock, Remy" she said, annoyance in her tone. "Come in and sit" she continued, her words sounding more like an order than a request.

Remy closed the door with a shrug, then sat down in the chair in front of her. "Is there a problem?" he asked as if he didn't have any idea what was wrong.

"I probably should have advised you" Candace said, turning away from her computer "that you're not to remove Rogue from this property without letting me or another member of the staff know where you're going. I would think it would be common sense though. We're here to take care of her; you can't just take her off somewhere and not expect us to be concerned. Now where did you two go?"

"I just took her to the park" Remy said. "It was a beautiful day and I thought she might like to get out for awhile, especially after the nightmare she had last night."

Candace frowned. "You took her out in public, where she could just run into anyone? Didn't you think about the risk at all? What if she had touched someone? That was very irresponsible of you."

"It's not like she was running around touching people" Remy said, reaffirming to himself the knowledge that she could never know about Rogue's playing in the grass. "She had her gloves on, and I was with her the entire time. It was perfectly safe."

"I still don't like it" she replied, and her frown deepened. " Who's to say what's safe, or what could happen? You saw what happened yesterday. What if she touched the wrong person by accident? Mutants are so unpredictable."

"You don't say" Remy growled, and tipped his sunglasses down his nose so that his darkly burning eyes showed. _The nerve of this lady. _Candace swallowed and sat back in her chair. "You're paranoid, lady. Rogue isn't about to go around touching anybody as far as I can tell. She seems to avoid everyone, if you haven't noticed. And speaking of paranoid, I've got a bone to pick with you. Rogue's still legally a minor, right? So what's she doing out of school? You showed me her records; she hasn't graduated high school."

A defiant look came across Candace's face; she got up from her chair and moved over to the window, her bureaucratic persona coming back over her. "Rogue is too wild an element to place in an environment with normal kids. We can't take the risk of something happening because of her."

"Ever hear of tutors, lady?" Remy asked sarcastically.

"We are a state run home, not a school" She replied unapologetically.

"Fine" he spat. "We won't even get into yet about how what you're doing is illegal. Why won't you even let her have a damn book? The others won't have anything to do with her so it's not like she'll touch them while she's reading, so why not let her?"

"We can't take that risk" Candace said defiantly. "We have a responsibility to the state to protect the other residents as well as her. I hate to say this but frankly the concerns of one mutant don't outweigh the safety of the other residents here."

Remy wanted to smack her at this point, because she didn't sound like she hated it at all, but even with his righteous indignation he still had no desire to go back to jail, and if he did it wouldn't help Rogue anyway. "Letting her have a tutor would be in your favor then" he said, trying to get her to see the advantages. "She'd be busy and away from the others for most of the day. It may even help with her attitude. Don't you realize she's bored?" Remy continued in disgust. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you. Do you know how ridiculous you sound?"

"Don't you dare say.…" she started angrily, but Remy interrupted her.

"Okay, so let's go back to that subject I avoided earlier. About how you have a truant under your roof. Rogue being a mutant doesn't exempt her from being legally required to attend school. Does the state know it's contributing to the delinquency of a minor?"

"I think I've had just about enough of you Mr. LeBeau" Candace said, completely formal now, all trace of any infatuation she may have had gone. Frankly that made Remy relieved. He had no desire to be the object of her fantasies.

"You do remember that you're on probation, don't you? One phone call to your probation officer and you'll be back in that cell so fast your head will spin." she said spitefully.

"Go ahead" Remy said, letting his anger, both for Rogue and just at Candace in general, carry him along. "But the next phone call will be made by me to the state department of education, and I'm betting that you'll be in the cell next to me."

Candace's mouth snapped closed at this as she seemed to realize that he may be right.

"Good. Maybe you're ready to listen now. Stop being so fucking paranoid and listen to reason. Make her keep them in her room in you have to, but let her read. As for the tutor.…." Remy paused, trying to think. "Fine, I'LL get her a tutor. The lessons can even be done at my father's house, if you're that damn paranoid about her taking her gloves off." The words were just coming out one after another now, he wasn't even sure where the idea had come from, but he couldn't change his mind now that he'd offered to do it, and the more he thought about it the better it would sound. Bringing her to his home could be just the thing for her. She'd get away from the home for awhile, be around people who weren't paranoid and stupid. Besides, Mercy and Tante Mattie would just love her; of course it wouldn't do _him_ much good as the three of them would probably gang up on him, but hey, he was supposed to be doing penance, right? He just hoped his _pere_ would go for it.

Candace didn't look like she might go for it though. "Let Rogue go to a house of THIEVES?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "I know who you and your family are Mr. LeBeau, and you're crazy if you think I could allow you to let her associate with a family of criminals."

"Why not? You let her associate with me" Remy shrugged. "Besides, if you know who my family is, then you know that you don't want to make an enemy of us. We don't have to steal anything to make your life very, VERY miserable."

He took a malicious pleasure in seeing the older woman wilt.

"Fine" she muttered bitterly, returning to her desk. "I'll agree to it. You're excused now."

"Thank you so much" Remy said sarcastically. "I'll need a day or so to make the arrangements. In the meantime, get her a book, will you? Sheesh." Shaking his head, he left Candace's office and out of the building into the beginnings of sunset, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

O-o-o-o-O

After Remy left, Candace got up from her desk and left for her office and headed for the storage area. The residents' items that didn't get placed in their rooms were kept in boxes for them in storage. She found Rogue's box easily; there wasn't much in it though. Just some books, some pictures of Rogue as a child with a woman that she assumed was the girl's foster mother, and one of a blue-skinned woman with dark red hair. This was probably Rogue's real mother. Figures that a freaky looking woman like that would give birth to a girl with Rogue's attitude. She couldn't believe that she had allowed that young man to get the best of her. It was her own fault; she had let herself be drawn in by his good looks. Such a beautiful man. Too bad he was a mutant. She hadn't always been as wary of mutants as she was now, but after seeing the violence in the world now all because of mutants, and the literature that the Friends of Humanity had given her to read, it was hard to argue that mutants were anything but something that had to be dealt with. She didn't completely agree with the Friends; she thought some of their ideas were a little too extreme, but they were right that normal people weren't safe until the mutant question was resolved. People like Rogue and Remy were proof of it. It had taken all day to repair the damage she had caused to the cafeteria wall when she touched Remy. She'd had no choice but to report exactly what had happened to the state, but it made her look incompetent, like she couldn't control the people under her care.

Frustrated, she looked at the books, trying to figure out which one to take. With all of them in Braille, she couldn't tell what was what. Finally she grabbed one at random and put the box away. Candace then stalked off, almost sulkily going to Rogue's room in the women's wing. Fine, she was having to give in. This time. But Remy LeBeau had another thing coming if he thought he'd be able to get his way forever. She didn't care how pretty he was.

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue was in her rocking chair listening to Cibo Matto when she heard the knock at the door. "Come in Candace" she called, knowing it couldn't be anyone else, especially after having talked to Remy. She listened to the woman come in, expecting a tirade about her having left without telling anyone. What she didn't expect was to hear Candace cross the room and toss something on her bed. Definitely not something light, judging by the sound of the thud.

"Your friend Remy decided you should have something to read" Candace said, heading back to the room. "Thankfully I agreed with him."

"Bullshit" Rogue smirked. "He got one over on you, didn't he?" she asked in amusement. "You never would have done this on your own."

"Watch it young lady" Candace replied spitefully. "I don't have to let you keep that. That young man forgets the thin ice he's on. You might want to remind him how easy it would be for him to be put behind bars again."

"Oh go away Candace" Rogue said, listening for the door to shut. When it did, the noise being just short of a slam, she let out her breath. As much as she appreciated Remy trying to help her, she didn't want him getting in trouble because of it. Candace could very easily have him sent back to prison. It was amazing how uptight a person could get over a book. A book. Rogue smiled. Remy had actually gotten her a book. She got up from her chair and went over to the bed, feeling around on the covers until she found the cover. With a grin she stripped off her gloves and felt it. She couldn't believe she was getting so happy over a book. Pretty sad, really. She sat on the bed and ran her fingers over it, looking for the words in her alphabet that would tell her the title. Finally she found it and skimmed it quickly with her fingertips, her grin increasing. _Remy would laugh his ass off at this_ Rogue thought to herself in amusement as she sat back against her pillows to read "The Taming of the Shrew".

O-o-o-o-O

Remy looked around from his place at the dinner table. The usual noise of dinner in the LeBeau household was reduced to the clink of china and people eating their food as they listened to him tell the tale of how his day had gone, and the newest project he had taken on.

"So" his _pere _said calmly, "you promised to provide this girl with a tutor, and to have her brought to our home to have her lessons. Don't you think this goes just a little beyond the terms of your probation?"

"If you could just see how she lives Papa. She's pretty much confined to her room since nobody wants anything to do with her, they're all afraid. Yeah, she's got an attitude, but I bet she developed at least part of that by living there. And what kind of people won't even let someone read?" Remy's righteous indignation was returning just from thinking about it. "Besides, it would be good for her to get out of that place for awhile, and hang out with normal, sensible people."

Mercy grinned. "Normal, sensible people? I thought you wanted to bring her here."

"Hush, woman" Henri said, trying to sound gruff and domineering.

"Oh please" his wife responded, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah really, like you'd ever get her to shut up" Emil chimed in from the other side of the table.

"Watch it Lapin" Mercy warned, "I know where you sleep." Most of the rest of the table laughed at this, Remy included. Only his _pere_ remained silent.

"Mattie, what do you think about this?" he asked finally. Jean-Luc's housekeeper and surrogate mother to his children was quiet for a moment.

"I think we should do what we can for this child" she said, and Remy started to smile. Tante Mattie could be stern sometimes, but she had a huge heart. She had to, to have been able to put up with him and his brother all of these years. "They have no idea how to care for someone like that, so they just shut her up in a cage, all because of an accident of birth. It could have easily have been Remy in her place."

Remy's smile faded, remembering how he had lived as a child on the streets until Jean-Luc had taken him in. It would have been so easy for him to have been taken in by the state instead, perhaps put away in a home such as the one where Rogue lived; not because of any disability but because of his mutant powers.

"It's just not right" Henri agreed. "She should be able to finish her education. Besides, doing this would look very good for Remy; maybe get him some brownie points in the eyes of the law."

_Leave it to Henri to find the practical side _Remy thought in amusement. He hadn't thought of that, but Henri was right. Maybe the state would consider shaving off a little of his time for good behavior? Apparently his _pere_ thought so too, for he nodded in agreement.

"Very good points. I just wish you had bothered to consult with your family before making such promises."

Remy opened his mouth to protest but Jean-Luc waved his hand for his son to keep quiet and continued. "I think it is a good idea though. I don't like hearing about the neglect this girl goes through. If there is something we can do to make life a little better for her, then we should do it. Problems should be solved by those who see them." He paused to take a sip of his wine. "I will contact Alexandre tomorrow. He doesn't work with the blind but he will know people who do and can make arrangements." Alexandre Talone had been Remy, Henri and Emil's teacher while growing up. He was an intelligent man with old world manners, and Remy had a lot of respect for him.

"_Merci, _Papa" Remy, a smile of gratitude spreading across his face.

"In the meantime Papa can she come over tomorrow and spend time with us? I could help Remy in getting her used to the house, since she'll be visiting regularly" Mercy asked, and Remy could tell she was definitely becoming more interested in the idea of Rogue coming to visit.

"Don't you start poisoning her against me now" he warned. "She's still getting used to me" _And I'd like to keep our truce in place, at least long enough for my bruises to heal_ he thought to himself.

Mercy gave him condescendingly amused look. "Who said anything about poisoning her against you? The world doesn't revolve around you Remy, no matter what you may think sometimes."

"I don't think it revolves around me" Remy replied a bit defensively, "I'm just used to you and Tante Mattie always teasing me, and I'd like Rogue to get to know me better before she decides if she wants to join in." _Besides, she already does enough teasing on her own. I don't need everybody else giving her more ammunition. Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah, that stupid bureaucratic rat. _As much as he loved his family, the teasing did get to him sometimes if he was trying to be serious.

"It sounds like she does already" Mercy grinned, and ruffled his hair in apparent effort to show she didn't mean it.

Remy gave in, and gave a look of mock horror. "Please Mercy, not the hair. I worked very hard to achieve this look."

"What, the 'just walked in after speeding through town on a motorcycle' look?"

"Of course! I may never get it in this particular configuration ever again" he replied indignantly.

"And such is the world's loss" his sister in law said, rolling her eyes."

"You know it" he answered with a wink.

Apparently his _pere_ had had enough though. "Yes, she can come over tomorrow Mercy. But Remy, don't take this as an excuse to visit with Bella. While Rogue is here you are still on the clock. We don't need her carrying tales back to that home about you using this as an opportunity to see your girlfriend."

"Yes Papa" Remy agreed readily. Personally he doubted Rogue would do that, but it couldn't hurt to be careful.

"Good. Then it's settled. And I'll leave you _children_ to clean up" Jean-Luc said, looking around at his family in amusement as he got up to leave the table.

"Right" Mercy said, also standing up. "Last one at the table does the dishes" and with that she grabbed her own dishes and made for the kitchen.

Henri was quick to catch on and soon followed after his wife. That left Remy and Emil, as Tante Mattie left the room to put the leftover food away.

"You know, I could beat you there" Emil said, grinning at his cousin.

Remy pretended to consider this. "That's true, you could. You're certainly fast enough. But would you be fast enough to get away from Mercy after I tell her who really put the chocolate Ex-Lax in her Valentine candy? She still doesn't believe that Henri didn't do it. And Henri would _love _to know. He still thinks I did it."

At this his already pale cousin got even paler. "Ummm.….you know, I think I'll just finish this bit of potato before I get up. You go on, Remy, and don't mind me" he said, and bowed his head over his plate.

"Why thank you Emil" Remy grinned, then took his dishes and went to the kitchen, happy to be free of dish duty and be able to torture Emil at the same time. Emil just muttered under his breath and shoved the remainder of his potatoes into his mouth.

O-o-o-o-O


	12. Meet the LeBeau's

AN: Sigh, back to school soon. Anyone who thinks that I think I own the X-Men needs to share whatever they're smoking.

O-o-o-o-O

The next morning found Remy striding towards Candace's office with a bit of a bounce in his step. He was looking forward to thumbing his nose at her by waltzing out of here with Rogue today. There wasn't much she could do about it either. His _pere_ had promised this morning to set the Guild lawyers after her if she caused any trouble about Rogue coming to the house. His family's lawyers may seem like a bunch of dull sticks, but they were a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom. He smirked at the thought of Candace stuck facing them. She'd get eaten alive.

Just to be nice he gave a brief knock before walking into the woman's office. She was at her desk eating a donut and reading the paper. Remy just smiled at the glare she gave at his entrance.

"Good morning Candace" he said brightly, leaning into the doorway. His good mood just seemed to piss her off, as she dropped her donut onto the desk and deepened her glare.

"That remains to be seen" she muttered. "Still happy over getting your way yesterday, I see."

Remy grinned. "Nah, I've got more stuff to be happy about. We won't have the tutor ready for a couple of days, but my family wants me to bring Rogue over today so they can meet her and start getting her used to the house. I just thought I'd be nice and let you know what was happening so we don't have a repeat of yesterday."

Candace's glare remained on her face. "Now see here, I never agreed to.…" she began but Remy cut her off. "I've also gone ahead and let our family's lawyers know what's going on, and they've happily agreed to prepare a case against the state regarding Rogue's truancy and your treatment of her should you give us any trouble." And they had, too. They were positively gleeful at the thought of suing the state of Louisiana. It was almost scary.

The older woman looked she wanted to spit. Remy just looked a little more smug and glanced over her desk. He paused though when he noticed the brightly colored pamphlet laying near her coffee cup. "Protect our children. Protect our future!" proclaimed large letters against the background of a happy, innocent-looking family, with "Friends of Humanity" written at the bottom. He suddenly didn't feel quite so smug and happy anymore.

"I see your taste in reading material leaves much to be desired" he commented with distaste.

"I'm educating myself about what's really going on in the world", Candace replied, and she seemed to take some pleasure in his change of mood. "You mutants can't go on having your way forever just because you think you're superior to us. There has to be some control, there's too much of a threat to normal people."

Remy shrugged. "Normal's relative. Have you ever thought that we're the next step in evolution, what humanity is growing towards?"

"There's no way humanity could develop into you. It's just not...natural. Not right" she said in disgust.

"I see" he responded, nodding his head. "So you've talked to God lately, have you? I'd love to hear what His or Her thoughts are on the subject. Personally I have a few issues I'd like to have you bring up the next time you two chat." He just couldn't believe her attitude, how she could let herself get brainwashed by that crap. Then again, maybe he could. She didn't really seem that bright and her ignorance and protective attitude towards the residents of the home could leave her susceptible to the drivel that the FOH published. It just made him more troubled about Rogue's situation here. The FOH had powerful friends in government, both state and federal, and they were being heard more and more. Some wanted records kept of mutants in schools, both students and employees. The argument of protecting children helped it be taken seriously by those who would usually be undecided. Others wanted babies tested for the X-gene at birth for record keeping.

"I've read stuff like that too, a long time ago" Remy continued, nodding his head toward the pamphlet. "Except the people who wrote it spoke German."

"Don't try to confuse the issue by making crap comparisons like that. This isn't the same at all. Jews aren't a threat to society. They can't suck out people's souls or make things blow up" Candace said.

Remy just shook his head. "Just can't argue with people like you, huh? Always the same old story, no matter what the language. Anything different is bad. Look, never mind. You wanted me to keep Rogue out of your hair, well I'm doing that. I'm taking her out of here for the day. If you've got a problem with that, talk to my lawyer" he said, and taking a business card out of his pocket, tossed it onto her desk. It bore the name and address of the law firm that the Guild lawyers belonged to, and Candace must have recognized it because her eyes widened a bit in what appeared to be intimidation.

"Fine" she replied after a moment "I want her back here by 6 though. Lawyer or no lawyer, she is ultimately in our custody."

"Fine" he repeated back to her, and didn't bother to wait for her dismiss him, just turned around and left the office. He was having a hard time just being barely civil to her, when all he wanted to do was just wring her neck. There was time to imagine that later though; what he needed to do now was find Rogue and get out of here. It was still breakfast time so he figured she was in the cafeteria. It didn't take long to get there, and he looked around but there was no Rogue to be found. Sarah was behind the counter though, so he went over to talk to her.

"Morning, _chere_" Remy said, putting a charming smile on his face. Sarah smiled back at him as she filled a tray for the person in front of him. "Morning Remy, how are you?"

"Not bad. So where's our little Rogue this morning?"

"Oh she had her breakfast already. Juice and leftover Italian sub, the breakfast of champions" Sarah said with a laugh.

Remy grinned. "Really? I thought that was cold pizza. So she's back in her room then?"

"Yes, happily reading her book, I'm sure. I don't know what you said to Candace, but that was really nice of you."

Remy just shrugged. "She needed it. Listen, I'm taking Rogue out for the day, so don't expect her for lunch." He had no problem telling Sarah about Rogue's comings and goings, even though it technically wasn't any of the woman's business, but she seemed to be the closest thing to a friend that Rogue had here, and so deserved the courtesy in his eyes.

"Thanks, I'll remember that. You did tell Candace this time, right?"

"Yep. She didn't like it, but that's her problem" he laughed.

Sarah just shook her head. "You're going to get yourself into real trouble one of these days Remy."

"I thought I did already. I'm here, aren't I?"

"True, true. But go on now, go grab Rogue and get out of here. The day's slipping away" she said. "Besides, you're holding up my line."

"Yes ma'am" Remy grinned, and gave a little bow before backing out of the breakfast line. "You have a wonderful day."

"I don't know about that; I'm here, aren't I?" she replied good-naturedly.

Remy just laughed and left the cafeteria. A couple of minutes later he arrived at Rogue's door, but didn't hear any of the odd music playing from inside like he usually did. He knocked and a moment later heard her call for him to come in. Upon entering her room he finally did hear music, but it was classical this time; a piano playing quietly in the background. And instead of being in her rocking chair, Rogue was sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book in her lap, fingertips skimming across the page she was on. Remy had always been curious about Braille; the letters always seemed so close together that he wondered how people could tell the difference between one character and the next. Rogue didn't seem to have any problem though; in fact she looked she might be a fast reader.

"Hey Remy" she said, not looking up from her book.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, puzzled.

"You're taller than Candace. You have a heavier step. Thank you for the book, by the way" and this time she did look up, and the smile she gave him lit up her entire face, making her simply beautiful.

"Oh. Right." _ Duh_ Of course it would be something simple like that. Then he saw her smile, and it made the annoyance he had gone through with Candace completely worth it. Now if he could just get her to smile like that more often.

"You're welcome, _chere_" Remy said, sitting himself in her rocking chair. "So what are you reading?"

Rogue gave a little laugh. "Now don't you laugh, but it's _The Taming of The Shrew_."

He did try not to laugh, but couldn't help it. "Good choice. So is it helping you any?"

"Hey! I told you not to laugh. And it wasn't my idea. Candace picked it out."

"Couldn't help it" Remy replied, still snickering.

"Suuuuuure. Lucky for you I'm in a good mood, otherwise you'd get smacked."

"Sure, sure. Just not with the cane, okay? Keep that up and people will start to think that I'm being abused" he joked.

The mock glare Rogue had been sending in his general direction drifted away. "I should, you know, with you getting Candace mad at you like that. She was pissed yesterday. Don't you know how much trouble she can get you in?"

"Why _chere_, it almost sounds like you're concerned for me."

Rogue shifted on the bed and looked a little uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, you're the only companion so far that's been halfway decent." Remy smirked. He could almost hear some of the ice melting around her. This was probably as close as he'd get her to admitting that she was getting used to him.

"Perhaps I can bump myself up a little farther on that chart. How would you like to go back to school?"

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue sat in shock for a moment. Had he just said what she thought he'd said? "You're kidding, right? Candace would have a cow before she'd let that happen."

"She almost did when I told her what my plans were" Remy laughed, and she could hear him rocking energetically in her chair. "Not much she can do though. See my family, we're pretty well connected, and when I told my _pere_ last night what was going on, he agreed that what they are doing to you is neglect, along with being illegal. So unless you have strenuous objections to it, we're going to get you a tutor and you can have the lessons at my family's house. I have a feeling you won't object, will you Rogue?"

She was dumbstruck. He was actually doing this for her, to the point of threatening Candace, just to have her finish her education? Okay, he had definitely bumped himself up the chart.

"Why are you doing this though? It's not part of your probation; all you're supposed to do is just keep me company and keep me from getting in trouble here. And Candace can get you thrown back in jail."

"I told you. It's wrong, it's neglectful, it's illegal. Yeah I know, being a thief you'd think I wouldn't care about that whole legal bit, but there's a reason for it being law, and it makes sense. They're not taking care of you. What are you going to do with yourself when you turn 18, if you don't have your diploma? Even my brother and I have our GED's, though technically we don't need them in our business. I just think you need a chance to get out of here when you can."

Rogue didn't know what to say. Despite their conversation yesterday, she hadn't really taken him seriously when he'd mentioned talking to Candace. Yeah, she'd hoped that he'd help her when she turned 18, but just in making suggestions regarding employment and living space. Not anything like this. He was offering her an education, in his own home even.

"Thank you" she said quietly. Thank you didn't seem sufficient, but she didn't even know how to begin thanking him.

"Well what do you know, I've made Rogue speechless" Remy said, amusement clear in his voice.

This helped break her out of her shock. "Watch it Swamp Rat. Just because I'm grateful doesn't mean your safe from retribution when you deserve it" she warned, but there was no malice in her words.

"I wouldn't dream of thinking such a thing" he replied mockingly, and continued to rock in her chair.

"So how would this work?" Rogue asked, putting her book aside and leaning back against the pillows. "Are there any tutors around here who teach the blind?" Irene had hired a tutor from a nearby town, but it had taken some searching to find one.

"Yes there are. My old tutor did some calling around, and he found someone who agreed to come teach you. She won't be arriving for a couple of days, but she'll be bringing textbooks and special voice-activated software for the computer."

She nodded. "That sounds like how I was taught. So it won't be for a couple of days then?" she asked, wondering if she could get another book out of Candace, as she was halfway through the Shakespeare play already.

"Yeah. That's okay though, because in the meantime my sister-in-law Mercy wants me to bring you over to the house, to have you meet everyone and help you get used to moving around the house. That's where we'll be going today, unless you have anything better to do" he said, and the grin was back in his voice.

Rogue gave a brief snort of laughter. "Like there's so much going on around here." She grew quiet again though as a thought hit her. "Will your family be okay though, with someone like me coming around?" she said, thinking of how the people here avoided her.

"Rogue, I've told them all about you, and they can't wait to meet you. The mutant thing doesn't bother them at all. When my mutation developed, I was blowing things up left and right before I learned to control it. If they can put up with me, they can certainly put up with you."

"Do.….do you think I could learn to control this someday, like you did? You have no idea how much I want to live without having to wear gloves all the time." Surely if Remy could learn control over a dangerous power like he had, maybe she could too.

"I don't see why not" he replied. "Should just be a matter of practice. Remember how I had you practice turning my power the other day when I was an idiot and touched you? Could be just as simple as that. Maybe if you tried touching things like plants and concentrated on not absorbing them" he paused a moment. "Can you absorb plants?"

"Unfortunately, no. Or maybe that's a good thing. I don't know if I'd want to know what being a plant feels like. Do plants even have feelings, or remember things?" Rogue smirked as a thought crossed her mind. "Perhaps we should ask your girlfriend."

She heard a low growl coming from the rocking chair. "Knock it off, Rogue. You never know, you might end up liking Belle."

_Not likely_ Rogue thought to herself. Someone who sounded so perfect as Remy described her had to have a few flaws. It wasn't like she was jealous or anything, she just had the feeling they wouldn't get along. "Sorry, I can't help it" she shrugged. "A name like that just begs for jokes."

"Well help it" Remy responded. "My family likes her, and you don't want to get off on the wrong foot with them by insulting her, do you?"

She sighed. "No, I suppose not. Fine, I'll behave. So are we going?"

"Yeah, unless you want to finish your book." Remy said, she heard him get up from the rocking chair.

"Nah, I don't know if Candace will give me another book, and I need something to tide me over until the tutor arrives." She marked her place with the bookmark that was lying nearby, and got off the bed.

"Cool, let's get out of here."

Rogue nodded and grabbed her cane from where it lay on the bed, then snapped it open and followed him out the door. Outside it was just as nice as it was yesterday, and she lifted her face to smile up at the warm sun. A thought occurred to her as they were putting on their motorcycle helmets.

"Remy, do you think I should wear my sunglasses?" Normally she wouldn't care what people thought when seeing her eyes, but his family was being kind enough to take her into their home, and she wanted them to be comfortable around her.

"No, you just be comfortable. They'll accept you as you are" Remy said sincerely.

That was such a strange thought. She hasn't had anyone just accept her since Irene died, when she gave up trying and put away the sunglasses. No one until Remy, that is. She couldn't believe the changes that were happening in her life since he showed up. And now he was promising a place where she'd be comfortable and accepted.

"Alright" she smiled, and waited for him to get on the bike so she could sit behind him.

The drive was longer than the one to the park; Remy had told her that he lived in a different part of town than where the home was. She knew he was right when they finally parked. The neighborhood was quiet except for the sounds of birds and the occasional car passing by. The scent of flowers was heavy in the air, and Rogue breathed deeply, drinking in the heady fragrances. "This is the Garden District, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" Remy asked, confusion apparent in his voice.

"I used to take walks here with Irene" she said. "The air smells as wonderful as it did then."

"Then welcome back to the neighborhood" he said, handing back her cane before putting away the helmets. "Let me walk with you, at least until you know the place better" he suggested.

Rogue nodded and extended her hand. Again he didn't make her feel like he was trying to lead her around, though technically that was what he was doing. It was the practical thing to do though, so when he took her hand and tucked it in the fold of his arm she didn't resist. As they walked she still used her cane in front of her, to try and familiarize herself with the landscape. A piece of uneven pavement ten steps out, a branch of what was probably a bush extending out a few yards away from that, and so on until they came to a stop.

"Three steps up" Remy said, and Rogue prepared herself for the cane to hit the first step. This way they arrived at the front door with a minimum of fuss, and Remy let go of her arm to open the door for her. "Welcome to my humble abode, _chere_."

Rogue chuckled. "Being in _this_ neighborhood, I doubt it's that humble." As he closed the door behind her, she moved forward with her cane and found what sounded like a hardwood floor. Footsteps came into the room and she found her free hand being grabbed. Unable to stop the instinct, she flinched and almost snatched her hand away before remembering that she had her gloves on and these people knew about her mutation.

"Hello Rogue, it's so nice to meet you! I'm Mercy, and I have to confess that I'm related to this fool here; thankfully it's only by marriage." Mercy had a bright, enthusiastic voice, and Rogue felt a little run over.

"Um...nice to meet you" she said awkwardly, and returned the handshake the other woman was giving her.

"I don't know what he's told you, but don't believe a word of it, unless it's good of course. Only about half the things that come out of his mouth should be believed, and even then it's to be taken with a grain of salt."

"If the girl's spent this long with him, I think she'll have figured that out already" came another voice into the room. This voice was low and rich, with a strength to it that seemed to command respect.

Rogue felt her hand be dropped and then be picked up again by another, this one firmer than Mercy's had been, but not uncomfortable.

"Hello Rogue, it's good to have you here at last. I'm Tante Mattie, and you are welcome here."

Rogue couldn't help but smile. "Nice to meet you, Miss Mattie" she said, as the woman before her made her instinctively want to be polite.

"No, no child, you call me Tante, just like everyone else. Remy, go put the kettle on. Do you like tea, Rogue?"

Her smile got bigger as she heard Remy head off to what she assumed the kitchen without a word of argument. She could see now why Remy had such deep respect for and sometimes fear of his Tante. This was a strong woman, despite her calm demeanor.

"Yes, I like tea, Tante." The name felt a little awkward coming off her tongue but she had the feeling she could get used to it.

"Good, we'll all have a cup of tea and a nice chat. Then we'll take a tour of the house. You'll need to get used to getting around on your own with you coming for your studies of course."

Someone else who was willing to let her do things for herself. Of course this was probably where Remy got it from. "That sounds good."

"Good." Mattie gently took Rogue's hand again without warning or asking permission, but she found herself not minding. She heard Mercy walking behind them as they went to the kitchen. Rogue yet again had her cane out and she liked the sound it made against the floor. A few feet into the kitchen they turned, took a couple of steps then Mattie stopped and dropped Rogue's hand.

"There's a chair right in front of you. Have a seat and I'll serve us tea."

"Thank you" Rogue sat down and folded up her cane. "Do you mind if I take my gloves off?"

"Of course not!" came the reply from Mercy as she sat down across the table from her. "We know enough not to try anything foolish, unlike _some_ people" she said in an obvious taunt at Remy.

"Hey! I've apologized several times for that already. Will you ever let me live that one down?"

"Nope!" came the dual reply from Rogue and Mercy, then a bout of laughter.

"Jinx" Mercy continued to laugh. "I have to extend my condolences girl, for having that boy in your head. Just send the therapy bills to him."

Rogue was surprised to find herself actually laughing at this. She'd never found anything concerning her mutation to be funny. "Believe me, you have _no_ idea" she responded. "I don't know how you ladies put up with him."

Mercy groaned. "Trust me, we don't either."

"Don't listen to her Rogue!" came the indignant response from across the kitchen, "Any trouble I get into is usually her husband's fault!"

"Yeah right, and your brother says the same about you!"

"Don't you listen to either of them Rogue" came Mattie's calm voice interrupting the two. "One LeBeau boy is as bad as the other, it's just that Remy tends to be a little more outrageous about it."

The tea kettle started to whistle, and Rogue could hear movement around the stove. "Hey! That whole business at the parade was Henri's idea, I'll have you know."

Mercy gave a laugh from the table. "You could have said no, you know."

"He double-dared me. And how was I supposed to know it was going to rain?" Remy said defensively.

"New Orleans in July? Of course it was going to rain! But you could have worn shorts under the shaving cream" his sister-in-law stated sensibly.

"That wasn't part of the dare" Remy said, and Rogue heard footsteps approaching the table. He set something down in front of her. "Hot up of tea in front of you, with a spoon to the right. Do you want cream or sugar?" he asked.

"Both please. Two spoons" she replied.

"Well that's your own fault then for listening to Henri" Mercy replied, who sounded like she was fixing her own cup.

"I'm not the only who gets in trouble by listening to him" Remy joked. "Look who married him."

"I plead temporary insanity" Mercy replied innocently, and Mattie gave a snort and sat down next to Rogue. "You're still with us, aren't you?"

"Temporary is relative"

Rogue just sat and drank her tea, a grin developing on her face. _Looks like I'm just going from one asylum to another._

O-o-o-o-O


	13. Here Lies Emil Lapin

AN: I noticed that this last set of reviews had a definite theme, namely "When are we going to see Belle?" heh heh heh. In the meantime, here's something to tide you over until I get some action going. My brain cells are tied up by homework at the moment.

O-o-o-o-O

Along with the tea came an offering of beignets, which Rogue accepted happily. The sweet pastry was definitely something she liked about New Orleans. She wasn't particularly fond of the city, considering why she had moved here and everything that had happened since then, but at least it had some redeeming qualities. The tea was hot and not too sweet, just how she liked it.

"Perhaps you should give up thievery and work in a kitchen Remy" she commented sweetly. By this time he had joined the women at the table. "You seem to do much better at it." She heard what sounded like a raspberry come from the other end of the table.

"That's so mature Remy" Mercy commented sarcastically. "Actually Rogue, Remy happens to be a very good thief; one of the best in the Guild. We think someone set him up, the guards knew too much in advance. But you don't want to hear about our professional issues, tell us a little about yourself."

Rogue actually did want to know more about this business of Remy's having been set up, but obviously Mercy didn't want to talk about it. She could understand that, considering she was a stranger. She had just been hoping to avoid what Mercy had just asked, but there really was no avoiding the inevitable. She hated talking about her personal life, but these people were being so nice to her and she was getting along so well with them that she didn't want to be rude.

"Well, I'm not really sure where to start. I grew up in Mississippi. My mother died giving birth to me so I was raised by her best friend. This was the result of a car accident when I was ten" she said, indicating her eyes. "We moved to New Orleans when Irene was diagnosed with cancer. She died almost a year ago. I've been at the home ever since" she finished. Through this Rogue kept her voice as unemotional as possible and hoped no one noticed that she hadn't mentioned her mutation. It was hard to talk about Irene though. After her death there had been no one for Rogue to talk to, to share her feelings with. With all the changes happening she had felt very alone and abandoned, and didn't want to appear weak to the people taking command of her life.

There was a moment of silence. "That's a lot to go through" Mattie said at last. "A lot of people wouldn't have come through it as well as you've seemed to."

"That sounds like just the bad stuff though" Mercy butted in. "What about the good stuff, what do you like?" Remy's sister in law was obviously the sort of person who just went right ahead and spoke her mind no matter what. As much as she was grateful to Remy's family and as much as she was beginning to like them, she still didn't feel comfortable sharing so much about herself; giving the brief details of her life so far had been bad enough. Thankfully Mattie saved her.

"Mercy, the girl hasn't even been here two hours yet and already you're pestering her to tell us everything about herself. Give her time to get used to us first. She may decide she doesn't like it here" the older woman scolded.

"Oh no Mis...I mean Tante" Rogue was quick to correct herself. "I like it here so far. I'm just...not used to talking about myself. _ Or talking to people at all these days, unless it's to make them leave me alone_

"Well I think you might want to wait until you meet the rest of the family before deciding that" Mattie said with amusement in her voice. Rogue saw here an opportunity to change the subject and pounced on it.

"So who else lives here?" she asked.

Mercy answered this question. "Well there's my husband Henri, Remy's older brother. Also their father Jean-Luc, and their cousin Emil."

Rogue smiled as a flash of Remy's memory returned. "He's the joker, isn't he?" she asked, an image of a grinning red head floating into her mind.

"Oh yeah" Mercy said. "When the three of them get together it's like Armageddon. I wonder sometimes why this house is still standing."

"It's not for Emil's lack of trying" came Remy's snide remark. "Not our fault he didn't listen when we told him that fireworks belong _outside_".

"You didn't really try that hard to stop him though" Mercy retorted. "I distinctly remember hearing more than one person laughing in the living room before it exploded."

By this time Rogue had started laughing. She tried to picture the young man in her mind lighting fireworks in a house, and ending up with a soot-covered face, just like in cartoons. "You guys sound like you were a bunch of juvenile delinquents" she snickered.

A snort of laughter came from across the table. "What do you mean _were_? This was just two years ago" Mercy said. Rogue couldn't help but grin at this.

"For some reason that doesn't surprise me." She finished the last of her beignet and sucked the powdered sugar off of her fingers. "Thank you for the tea, Tante. That was very good."

"You're welcome Rogue" came Mattie's warm reply.

"That reminds me" said Mercy. "Why 'Rogue'? Is that actually your name?"

Rogue bit her lip. "Yeah, it is. Irene was a mutant; she could see the future. She said I was going to be a loner and that the name fit. Besides with all the things people are naming their kids these days it's not _that_ weird" she said defensively.

"Leave the girl alone Mercy" Mattie said. "The name does seem to fit. You shouldn't let it define yourself though, Rogue" she continued.

Rogue really wasn't sure how to respond. She hadn't intended it to begin with, but this past year had just found herself retreating more and more so that she wasn't sure how to turn it around. Remy dragging her out of herself seemed to be a good start though. "It's not that easy" she said finally. "I'll try though." Feeling a little uncomfortable, she shifted in her chair. "Could someone show me where the bathroom is? The tea went right through me" she asked with a little embarrassment.

She heard Mercy get up. "No problem, come along with me." Rogue got up in relief and put on her gloves before grabbing the cane from where it rested on the table. Mercy came around the table, took her arm and led her out of the kitchen. They turned in a different direction from where they had entered and Rogue's cane tapped against carpet this time.

"I'm sorry for being so nosy Rogue" Mercy said they walked. "This situation with Remy's community service is just rather funny though, and we've been curious about the girl who's been giving him so much trouble. Did you really accuse him of stealing your cane in public?" It was obvious she was trying not to laugh.

Rogue relaxed a little, and grinned. "Yeah, I did. It was funny; I'm surprised nobody called the cops." she sobered though when she remembered how much trouble he could have gotten in. "I promised him I wouldn't do that again though."

"Probably a good idea" Mercy admitted. "We don't need Remy getting into any more trouble with the law, especially if that social worker where you live keeps putting up a fuss."

"She's a real bitch. She's afraid of mutants, so she gets overprotective of the other people in the home" Rogue said. "Sometimes I think she wants us all locked up." _Me especially_ she thought to herself. Having given up on trying to be friendly, Candace seemed to want her wrapped up and locked in a closet. _I feel like a character out of a damn Dickens novel sometimes. The poor little orphan trapped by the system. If I wasn't living it I'd find it horribly melodramatic. What am I saying? I AM living it and I find it horribly melodramatic. _

"I'm still surprised she's letting me come over here" she continued out loud. "The look on her face when Remy told her about it must have been priceless." Not that she would have been able to see it of course, but the idea was still the same.

"I'm surprised they let someone like her have supervision over anyone, let alone young people and the disabled" Mercy commented.

Rogue just shrugged. "Yeah, well, she's a bureaucratic rat, so she's perfect for all that paper-pushing and stuff she does all day."

"Bureacratic rat. I like that. Well, here's the bathroom on your right" Mercy said, and explained where everything was. When she was finished, Rogue came back out and Mercy led her back to the kitchen. Upon entering Rogue could hear water running and the clink of china, so she assumed someone, most likely Remy, was washing the dishes. She wondered why they didn't have a dishwasher, but then maybe they did and just weren't using it for some reason. Besides, the thought of Remy doing chores amused her.

"Rogue, why don't you go with Remy and Mercy and let them show you around" Mattie said from the direction of the running water, surprising her.

"Yeah, let's go before she finds something else for me to do instead" Remy muttered on her right, and without really thinking about it Rogue extended her hand in his general direction. Remy tucked it into his arm and they left the kitchen; Rogue could hear Mercy following behind them.

"So how big is this house?" Rogue asked.

"Um, well, it's two floors, and eight bedrooms" Remy said before getting interrupted by his sister in law.

"Ten, Remy. I thought you learned how to count?"

"_Oui_, but I don't normally go around and count bedrooms."

"No, you'd rather just use them."

"Hey, I don't want Rogue getting the wrong impression about me" Remy said defensively.

Mercy snickered. "What, that you think you're Casanova?"

"No, Casanova didn't have this much style" Remy said suavely, and Rogue made a face.

"I hope the doors are big enough to fit your ego through, Swamp Rat" she commented sarcastically.

"Swamp Rat?" Mercy exclaimed from behind them with a laugh.

"Ego? It's the truth, _chere_. But that was before I fell in love with my Belle" he said happily, and Rogue had to resist sticking her tongue out at the sappiness.

"Ah yes, the mushroom" she said, and he groaned. "She's not a mushroom, she's a plant.…...damnit, now you've got me doing it."

Mercy was laughing by this point. "You know, I could see Belladonna as a fungus."

"You're just saying that 'cause you don't like her."

"Well I don't. She's shallow and perky and I can't believe you haven't noticed how she gets when she's talking shop; she just turns completely cold-blooded. It's scary" Mercy said, completely serious now.

"Do you expect her to sound happy when she's talking about killing people?"

"Why not? Her brother does."

"Don't even try to compare Belle to that sick little.……" Remy growled and his arm tightened around Rogue's while he took a deep breath. "Look, do we have to talk about this in front of Rogue?"

"Why not?" Mercy said. "If she's going to be spending time over here then she ought to know about the little soap operas she's going to run into.

"Okay you can both stop talking about me like I'm not here now" the person now being discussed said and tried to remove her hand from Remy's arm as it was getting a little uncomfortable. "Not so tight Swamp Rat"

"Sorry" he said ashamedly and loosened his grip on her. Rogue shook her hand out before placing it on his arm again. "Just talking about Julien gets me mad. You've met him so you know what he's like."

"Wait, Rogue met Julien? When did this happen?" Mercy sounded concerned now.

"It was yesterday when we were at the park. I don't know what he was doing there, but he was giving us a hard time before Rogue beat him up with her cane" Remy said with malicious satisfaction.

"I didn't beat him up, just got a good shot in to the knee" Rogue try to explain, but Mercy just laughed.

"Oh man, that's priceless. Even if it was just the knee, it's still funny. I wish I could have seen it."

She could feel what was probably wood brush against her, and she guessed that they had gone through a doorway as the thickness of the carpet changed beneath her.

"We're in the living room now" Remy said in a more normal tone of voice, and Rogue figured he was probably glad to change the subject. She didn't blame him; just thinking about Julien left a bad taste in her mouth. Mercy didn't seem ready to give up on it though.

"So you have no idea at all why he was there, Remy? He's not the type for walking in the park."

"I know. I can't think it anything but coincidence though; it's not like he's following me or anything."

Mercy was completely serious again. "You think not? You know how jealous Belle is. He would like nothing better to be able to go tell his sister about how her fiance is spending time with another girl."

"Belle knows what I'm doing, Mercy. I told her what was going on. She doesn't have any reason to be jealous."

"Bet that wouldn't stop her though" Mercy muttered, and Rogue was starting to think that maybe Remy's perfect girl was closer to being a mushroom than she had thought.

"There's a perfectly comfy couch about five feet in front of you, Rogue" Remy said stubbornly, seeming determined to change the subject again. "I'd watch out for it if I were you, it's notorious for sending completely conscious people to sleep within minutes."

"Fine, we'll talk about something else" Mercy said in disgust. "You can't avoid it forever though; you're marrying into a bunch of snakes."

"You'll have to excuse my sister in law" Remy commented dryly. "She's been seeing snakes everywhere ever since she started waking up next to one in the morning."

"Nice way to talk about your brother. You know, maybe you'll fit into that family after all. What do I care? It's your funeral. Literally, if your future brother in law has his way."

"Fight nice children" Rogue muttered under her breath. Mercy had come up on her other side and they were stopping every so often as they argued. She wouldn't have minded so much if she weren't stuck in the middle of it, literally. She removed her hand from Remy's arm with a sigh and stepped away from him.

"I think I'll take my chances with this couch. Just wake me up when you guys are done" she said and felt her way forward until she found the couch. Sitting down, she discovered it was just as comfortable as Remy said and settled back into the soft cushions.

"Well, I guess she showed us" Mercy said ruefully. "I'm sorry Rogue, we really shouldn't be airing our dirty laundry in front of you like this."

"She's right. I didn't bring you over here for a soap opera. Come on, get up; there's a lot more house to show you" Remy said, and she could feel him take her hand gently, but not pull on it. Giving a long-suffering sigh, she straightened.

"Alright, but if you keep it up I'll be adding some more bruises to your collection" she warned.

"Collection?"

Rogue smirked in the direction of Mercy's voice. "Oh yes. Hasn't he told you about how I beat him? Show her your legs, Remy."

"Um no, that's okay Rogue, I can live without seeing my brother in law's bare legs" Mercy was quick to assure her.

"What's wrong with my legs?" came Remy's wounded reply, and his hand slipped away from Rogue's before she heard the sound of cloth rustling.

"Other than the fact that they're attached to you? Nothing, it's just.……..damn, she did get you good, didn't she?" Mercy said, sounding impressed. "I need to get a cane."

"Poor Henri" Remy muttered mournfully. "The last thing you need is a cane. The last thing _she_ needs is a cane, but she's got an excuse. Now stop gawking at my legs; your husband's going to get jealous."

Mercy gave a snort of disgust. "You're the one who's showing them off. Not everyone wants to _gawk_ at you, you know." Rogue felt the other woman's hand take hers. "Come on Rogue; _ I'll_ show you around and Remy can follow." Not bothering to argue, she got up and allowed herself to be led away from the couch.

"Now there's not a lot in here; we've got the couch, the coffee table right in front of you...careful not to bump into it, it's glass...then there's the tv and entertainment center over here, and the wet bar, which the boys really shouldn't visit as much as they do sometimes.……." Rogue just kind of went into smile and nod mode, paying more attention to the directions they turned in and the distances between turns than in what her guide was saying. The things that were there were important, yes, but so were the spaces in between. She'd find her way by judging space, and by bumping into things when she misjudged. By the time she felt comfortable navigating the LeBeau house she'd probably have a collection of bruises to rival Remy's. It was the only way to learn though.

Remy seemed to agree with her. "She'll figure it out, Mercy. I would avoid the coffee table though, Rogue. It's rather painful when you hit it" he said with what sounded like the voice of experience.

"That's what you get for wrestling with your brother and cousin in the middle of the living room" came Mercy's unsympathetic reply. "And don't try to tell me it was Henri's fault."

"It was!"

Rogue snickered. "And how long ago was this?"

"Last night" Remy muttered from behind them.

"You guys have a regular circus going on here." Rogue was trying to get used to the people she now found herself with. They bickered and teased both her and each other, had tea with and showed concern over a stranger brought into their midst. Just very, very ….normal. It was lovely.

"Not surprising, considering the monkeys we have living here."

"You know, that says some interesting things about your relationship with my brother, _chere._ Disturbing, but interesting.……."

"Rogue, dear, could I borrow your cane for a moment?" Mercy asked in a sweet voice as she steered Rogue through what felt like another door frame.

"Nope. The only person who gets to hit Remy with this is me" Rogue replied with a little smile.

"You're no fun."

"Hey, I've got a reputation to keep up."

Remy laughed ruefully. "And you do it so well, too." She grinned, thinking he was probably remembering being at the wrong end of her cane.

"Sounds like you'll fit in nicely around here, Rogue" Mercy said as they walked. She brushed through another doorway as the other woman continued the tour.

"We're in the dining room now. It's your basic dining room; long table in the center surrounded by chairs, built slightly comfortable so you don't want to sit and stay too long. Is it just me or do they do that on purpose?" Mercy rambled on as she described the rest of the room. After a minute or two they left the room and entered what she said was the library.

"Unlike some people, we actually read the stuff in here" Mercy said. "Unfortunately there isn't anything in Braille here yet, but I understand you have some books of your own, so between those and what the tutor will bring you should have enough to keep you occupied. I wonder if the public library carries Braille? We should find out" she mused.

"The library back home carried a small Braille section" Rogue said. "I'd be surprised if the ones in a big city like this didn't."

"Well if not we can see about convincing the city they need one" Remy commented.

"Your family seems to have a lot of influence around here" Rogue supposed she shouldn't be surprised, but it still did at least a little. A crime family of this size wouldn't be able to survive if they weren't able to keep important people in their pockets.

Remy confirmed this. "Money's money, and the politicians love it, no matter where it comes from. It's a sad, corrupt world" he said with a trace of sarcasm.

"And I'm sure you're thankful for it. So with all these powerful people owing you favors, why couldn't you just buy your way out of jail?"

"The problem is the Assassins have their own people in office as well" Mercy put in, "They happened to have just the right judge, and they let Remy off lightly so that we'd owe them."

"Nice future in-laws" Rogue muttered.

"It's a long, complicated story, _chere_, and most of it ain't nice" Remy said as they headed out of the library. "That's why this wedding's so important."

"Nice reason to get married."

"No, I don't care what's involved. I wouldn't be marrying Belle if I didn't love her. Guild harmony doesn't keep a man warm at night" Remy said confidently.

"I still wouldn't want to be at the holiday dinners though" Rogue commented with distaste. Despite how he remarked about his happiness, Remy's situation just continued to sound more and more unpleasant. She hoped this Belle was worth it. He was proving himself to be too nice of a guy to be tied to a piece of fungus.

"I know I'm not looking forward to it" Mercy said, and turned them around a corner. "But onward and forward to more interesting topics. "In here we have the pool room. Whatever you do, don't bet against Emil, the boy's a shark. I've seen him clean the table even after a few beers."

"He doesn't sound like he's old enough to drink" Rogue observed.

"He's not" Remy said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "But considering we can't even follow the rules regarding theft, what makes you think we're going to worry about the drinking age? _Mon pere_ lets us drink, as long as we aren't stupid and do something like drive."

"Sounds like a smart man" Rogue commented idly as Mercy walked them around the room, pointing out where everything was.

"He has to be to put up with them."

"Thanks Mercy, you're going to have her thinking we do nothing but get in trouble" Remy complained from behind them.

"You mean you don't?" his sister in law asked innocently.

"Fight nice children."

"NO. She started it." Remy said childishly.

Rogue grinned. "Good thing I don't know where the corners are; otherwise you'd both be sitting in them."

"After Tante Mattie's scoldings, that would be like a reward" Remy said.

"I believe it. She seems like she can be a formidable woman."

"You don't know the half of it" Mercy commented. "Even the Assassins wouldn't dare touch her. She knows healing, and though she won't admit it, I think she knows the black magic too. She knows a lot of the old voodoo women in town; the real ones, not the flashy 'voodoo queens' that scare the tourists. Not the kind of person you want to talk back to while growing up."

"Or even now" Remy added as they left the room. "Down the hall there's an area that used to be servants' quarters that's been turned into a guest room. You can stay there if you ever need to spend the night."

"Thanks. That sounds nice" Rogue said. She was grateful for that too. Just her luck she'd end up tripping and breaking her neck on the stairs if she ended up having to go on one of the other floors. This was definitely quite the house. "I bet you guys have an indoor pool too, huh?"

"No, Jean-Luc didn't want to ruin the look of the house by building an addition for it" Mercy said. "There's an in-ground one out back though, that's hidden by the fence. You're welcome to come swim whenever you want. Assuming you swim of course" she added a little uncomfortably, and Rogue guessed she was thinking about her mutation.

"No, that would be great. I love to swim. Candace doesn't know it, but I own a bathing suit; it's body length, almost feels like a wetsuit" she laughed a little self-consciously. "I didn't dare mention it to her, she'd flip at the thought of me swimming."

"One of these days" Remy muttered. "There's got to be some way to get her fired or something, or at least taken out of that place. She's got no right to be having responsibility over others."

"Everybody gets theirs eventually" Rogue said, reminded of what Irene used to tell her about karma. _Everything you do comes back to you _ "I just hope I'm around to see it."

"Me too" Remy replied. Anything he would have added was interrupted though, by the slam of a door elsewhere in the house.

"Honey I'm home!!" called out a young male voice.

"Emil Lapin, what have I told you about slamming that door!" called Mattie in the distance, and Rogue was glad she wasn't on the other end of that voice.

Mercy laughed. "Come on Rogue, time for you to meet the youngest of the Three Stooges" she tugged her hand gently and they turned around to walk back the way they came. Eventually they returned to the kitchen, as Rogue could smell what was probably lunch cooking. Whatever it was, it smelled like it had sausage in it and made her mouth water. In the meantime, Mattie had continued to scold Emil.

"You've got rocks in your head boy, nothing gets in 'cause it's too thick in there" she said, and Rogue could hear her bustling around the kitchen. Emil sounded like he was on the other side of the room, probably trying to avoid any retribution he was due.

"Aw but you know you love me Tante" he said charmingly, and Mercy snickered.

"You know it's the only thing keeping you alive, too."

"You keep out of it Mercy. Hey, you must be Rogue! I'm Emil. Whatever they said, I didn't do it." A minute later her free hand was grabbed, and startled, she backed up, bumping into Remy.

"Hey now, it's okay" he said, steadying her. "Emil you twit, what did you do that for? You know she couldn't see you coming."

"Sorry Rogue" the younger man said apologetically, and dropped her hand. "I was just eager to meet you. I knew anyone who got the best of Remy like that was bound to be someone I'd like."

"Umm, it's okay" she responded. "Not used to being around such grabby people like you guys. I'm going to have to get used to it I guess."

"It's alright Rogue, 'cause he won't be doing that again, will you Emil?" Remy said warningly, not removing his hands from her sides where he had caught her. They were warm, and while not unpleasant, she wasn't used to it and it felt a little weird.

"I'm okay, you can let go of me now" she said.

"Right, sorry" Remy said, and dropped his hands. The place where they had been was cooler now, and she almost regretted having said anything.

"Sorry, I won't do that again" Emil apologized again. "It is good to meet you though. You'll have fun over here, everyone's cool, 'cept when Mercy's got PMS."

"Lapin" the woman in question growled. "You _want_ to die, don't you?"

"Wouldn't seem like a normal day if you haven't threatened me at least once, would it?" he laughed nervously. "Tante, can I be excused?"

"No, it's lunchtime" Mattie said. "Now go set the table. Mercy, if you're going to kill the boy, do it later and go outside. I don't want a mess in my kitchen. Everyone sit down now" she ordered, and Rogue could hear the clink of china as Emil set the table.

"Um, what are we having?" she asked as Remy led her to the table. "I think I've got it" she told him, and he dropped his hand.

"No problem. You pick things up fast" he said.

"Yeah, kind of have to. Bumping into things all the time stinks."

"We're having shrimp and sausage stew, Rogue" Mattie said, her voice approaching the table. "I hope you're not allergic to shellfish."

"No, I love seafood" Rogue said with a smile. "About the best I get at the home is fish sticks." _Typical cheap bureaucrats. You'd think being near the harbor we'd get fresh fish once in awhile, but nooooo.……._

"Institutional food is the worst" Remy agreed as they sat down. Rogue folded up her cane and removed her gloves. "Prison food especially. I think they do it on purpose."

Rogue nodded. "Probably. I bet they think the taxpayers would have a fit if they thought anything about the experience was pleasant."

"At least you'll get real food once a day" Mercy said. "Be a nice break from cafeteria fare."

"Ain't that the truth" Remy responded. In the meantime Rogue heard the sound of a dish being put in front of her.

"Bowl of stew straight ahead, spoon to your right" Remy said. "Careful, it's hot."

"I should certainly hope so" she replied sarcastically.

"That's our Remy, ever so helpful" Emil said condescendingly.

"But of course. And after lunch I think I'll help Mercy escort you to the back yard" Remy said in a pleasantly evil voice.

"Sounds like it was nice knowing you, Emil" Rogue grinned, and tasted the stew. It was hot, like Remy said, but thick with seafood, sausage and vegetables, and utterly delicious.

"Hey, like I said, just a normal day. A threat from Mercy and a threat from Remy. Now I just need one from Henri and my day will be complete."

"You've got a weird definition of normal."

"Nah, mine's just more fun. Who wants to die of boredom?"

"You have no danger of that, Emil" commented Remy. "You'll die of stupidity, isn't that right Mercy?"

"Yep. Probably after lunch."

O-o-o-o-O


	14. Meet the LeBeau's, Part Deux

AN: No, you've not been abandoned, just had to pause to keep up with homework

AN: No, you've not been abandoned, just had to pause to keep up with homework. The semester is almost over, so I'll be updating more quickly this time. The theme of 'when does Rogue meet Belle?' seems to have continued in the reviews, and the answer is: Not today. Probably tomorrow, storytime-wise. By the way, I own nothing here, except for Rogue's tutor.

O-o-o-o-O

"ROGUE! HELP!" Emil could be heard calling from where Rogue sat sprawled out on a very comfy porch swing in the LeBeau's back yard. The young man alternated from taunts to prayers on behalf of his soul as Remy chased him around the yard. The afternoon had been spent with the guys tossing a football around, and now Emil was getting his comeuppance for his antics before lunch.

"You're beyond help!" Mercy called from where she stood nearby. Rogue felt a little self-conscious for taking up almost the entire swing.

"Do you want to sit?" she asked, shifting in the seat.

"No, that's alright. I'm playing referee."

"I thought you were going to kill him"

"Nah, I'm having more fun right now watching Remy go after him" Mercy commented in amusement.

"ROOOOOOGUE!!" Emil was starting to sound out of breath.

Rogue grinned. "What's in it for me?" she called out. This was too funny.

"UMM…..UHHHHH……I'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT!" Emil yelled, definitely sounding out of breath.

She turned her head in Mercy's general direction. "He's not much of a negotiator, is he?" she commented.

"What do you expect? He's a thief. They don't usually negotiate; they just take what they want."

"True" Rogue replied. There was a thud sounding from the yard, followed by a cry of agony. "Damn, sounds like Remy really did kill him."

"Nah, Emil has just received the mother of all wedgies." Mercy laughed.

"Ouch" the other girl replied in sympathy.

"Don't feel sorry for him. The three of them have been tormenting each other for years. Remy's received his fair share of abuse from Emil."

"They sound like three little bratty brothers" Rogue said, and reached down to the floor to pick up the glass of lemonade that was there. It was homemade by Tante Mattie, and hands down was the best Rogue had ever tasted.

Mercy gave a snort of laughter. "They might as well be. Emil's parents died when he was young, so Jean-Luc adopted him and the three of them were raised together."

"You sound like you're all pretty crazy over here."

"Yeah, we are" Mercy laughed. "That's part of why I married into the family. I hope you have fun over here Rogue; it sounds like you need a little craziness in your life."

"Well Remy's certainly provided a bit of that so far" Rogue replied.

"So it sounds" Mercy agreed. "And here it's only Wednesday. I can't imagine what the rest of the week will be like."

"Only Wednesday? Feels like it's been longer than that. Way too long occasionally" Rogue said, making a face.

"Oh come on, Remy's not _that_ bad."

Rogue was silent for a moment. "No, I suppose not." Yeah he was conceited, juvenile and didn't know how to listen to a simple rule like 'don't touch'. His taste in women was suspect, and despite Mercy's words to the contrary, she still had her doubts concerning his skill in thievery. But his heart seemed to be in the right place, he showed concern for others, and he could even be kind of charming when he wanted to be. It did seem like a long time though since he had first shown up with Candace on Monday. So much had happened since then. She shifted on the swing and took a sip of lemonade. "I suppose if he can remember to keep his hands to himself he could be okay."

"He tends to grow on a person."

Rogue smirked. "You make him sound like a fungus."

"Nah, more like a weed." Mercy stopped as they heard the guys approach. Emil could be heard muttering obscenities under his breath.

"Good thing Tante can't hear you" Remy said in a mockingly disapproving voice. "You don't want a sore head to go along with your sore behind, do you?"

"I'd say something to that, Remy, but there's a lady present." Emil said as Rogue heard him go past the swing.

"Really? Where?" Remy asked in what sounded like genuine curiosity.

"I think we've been insulted, Rogue" Mercy commented dryly.

"I noticed. Good thing my cane's folded up."

Footsteps approached the swing. "Mind if I sit down, Rogue?" Remy asked.

"Sure" she answered, moving into a sitting position and making sure to give him plenty of room.

"No need to scrunch yourself into the corner" Remy said as he sat down. "I swear I've learned my lesson."

"Never can be too careful" she replied.

"One of these days you may decide to trust me, _chere_" Remy commented, sitting back and causing the swing to rock a little.

"I'm not holding my breath." To be honest though, she was starting to a little already, but he didn't really need to know that.

"Your loss. So what do you want to do now? We've still got a couple of hours until I have to take you back."

Rogue paused. "I don't know; what is there to do around here?" Usually around this time of day she'd be in her room listening to her CD's or being walked by whatever perky little companion Candace had found for her that month. But now she had an opportunity to actually get out and entertain herself; and she wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

"Well……" Remy said, and Rogue could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head as he obviously tried to think of something to do that didn't require sight.

"You haven't had your walk today, have you?" he finally asked. "Rogue has to be walked every day." He said to Mercy.

"Makes me feel like I'm a pet" Rogue grumbled.

"That's what we'll do! We'll walk Rogue" he exclaimed jokingly. "Want to come with us, Mercy?"

"Sure, this could be fun" Mercy said. Rogue heard her walk back into the house and call to Emil, asking him if he wanted to go on a walk; the young man's reply was too faint for her to make out though. After a minute she came back.

"Emil's not coming with us" she said. "He says he's had enough exercise today. Probably a good thing anyway; he's working tonight, isn't he Remy?"

"Yeah. He really should go take a nap, but he'll probably end up playing video games until dinner."

"I have a hard time picturing him as a thief" Rogue said. "He doesn't seem the type."

Mercy laughed. "Don't let him fool you, Rogue. He may be a joker, but Emil's quick with his hands, light on his feet, and amazing with electronics. Only person better than him is Theoren."

"Theoren's one of my cousins" Remy added when Rogue gave them a confused look. "He and his brother Etienne live in another part of town. Etienne's not a Thief yet but Theoren's our best hacker and electronics expert."

"Hmm…really is a family business, isn't it?" Rogue mused, then finished her lemonade.

"Yep, it's part of why we're so successful" Remy said as he got up off of the swing. "Well, shall we get you walked?" he joked.

"That comment almost invites remarks about leashes" Mercy snickered.

"Yeah, well, I value my life" Remy said.

"Smart man" Rogue commented as she also got up. She unfolded her cane and Remy tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. Once back inside the house Remy stopped for a moment. "Tante, Mercy and I are taking Rogue on a walk!" he called, and she realized they must be near the stairs.

"Just be back before dinner; your father wants to meet her before you take her back" Mattie called down to them. Rogue found herself feeling a little nervous at the thought of meeting Remy's father. Jean-Luc LeBeau was a powerful man and she was afraid of making the wrong impression. Knowing herself, she'd probably end up running her mouth and pissing him off. Maybe even enough that he'd rescind Remy's offer of the tutor, and she really didn't want that to happen. This bit of escape from the home was the best thing to happen to her since she started living there. So she'd have to be on her best behavior, no matter what the man may say.

"Yes Tante" Remy called in reply, and they continued out of the house, with Mercy following behind.

"Don't worry Rogue; Jean-Luc may sound like an intimidating man, but he's very much a gentleman" she said, and joined Rogue on her right as they came out onto the sidewalk.

"You might not want to be too close" Rogue said, and began to restrict her movements. "I might hit you accidentally with my cane."

"Notice she doesn't worry about hitting _me_ accidentally with it" Remy threw in dryly.

"Swamp Rat, any time I hit you with my cane is usually not an accident" she replied airily. Remy led them off of the sidewalk onto the side of the street and she felt Mercy move away from her. Rogue relaxed a little and let her cane swing freely again. She could hear children playing down the street, and a dog barking in the distance. The sun was warm, and except for the change in company it could have been one of her walks with Irene that seemed so long ago now.

"So are you a thief too, Mercy?" she asked.

"Yep. Not as good as Remy and the others yet, but note that I say _yet_" Mercy said with confidence.

"She's being modest" Remy said. "She's caught on faster than any of the girls who were born into the Guild. Papa thinks she'll be the first woman in the Guild to become a master."

"That's all well and good Remy, but you know what I want is to best my husband" Mercy said.

"That's because Henri said he'd buy her a Porsche if she beat him in the field" Remy explained to Rogue.

"Sounds like a good reason to me."

Mercy laughed. "I thought so too."

They passed some time in silence as they walked. A soft breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and played with Rogue's hair. The dog's voice grew closer as it continued to bark.

"I think we'll just go around the block" Remy said. "Papa and Henri should be home by the time we get back." Rogue just gave a nod of her head in response.

"So when does the tutor arrive?" she asked a little more time had passed.

"Day after tomorrow" Remy said. "Her name's Martine Talbot; my old tutor recommended her."

"It's weird, I'm actually looking forward to homework" Rogue said ruefully. "Guess it shows how bored I've been. I wonder if I'll still be saying that after I've been doing math again for awhile."

"Who knows?" Mercy said. "But in any case you won't be studying all day. It sounds like you haven't experienced much of this city at all, and Remy and I intend to fix that. You need to play tourist like everyone else who comes here. You up for that?"

Rogue smiled a little. "It sounds like it'll be happening whether I'm up for it or not. But that's a silly question; of course I am."

"Good." Remy said. "Since the tutor won't be here until Friday, we can start tomorrow. We'll go downtown and see what we run into. There's usually some kind of concert or other thing going on during the day."

"That sounds good" she said, and they fell silent for awhile; Rogue taking in the peaceful sounds of a normal, quiet neighborhood. The dog had finally fallen silent and the playing children were now behind them. It had been a very nice day so far, and she was disappointed that she would have to go back to the home soon. But she'd be back tomorrow, and in the meantime she had the rest of her book to read. _I could get used to this_, she thought. It probably wasn't a good idea, after all Remy could get time shaved off of his probation for good behavior………_Yeah, right._ So okay, she'd have Remy's company at least until she turned 18 and could leave the home. Maybe afterwards, too? It was something to keep in mind.

When they returned to the house Remy let go of her hand so she could go in. She could hear voices down the hall and someone with a heavy footstep came towards them.

"Hello Papa" Remy said. "This is Rogue Darkholme. Rogue, this my _pere._"

"It is a pleasure to meet you Rogue" said Jean-Luc. He had a bit deeper voice than Remy's, with a richer Cajun accent. She was about to speak when she felt her hand be taken and felt something warm and soft press against it. Remy's father had just kissed her hand! Rogue felt her face turn warm and she wasn't sure what to say, as no one had ever done that before. He let go of her hand and she could still feel the warmth through the thin material of her glove.

"Umm….li..likewise" she finally stammered, and felt embarrassed.

"Have you enjoyed yourself today? I would like to think that Remy and Mercy have behaved themselves, but I realize that's too much to hope for." Jean-Luc said in resignation.

"No, it's been good….they've been great" Rogue said.

"I won't even ask about Emil."

"He's been his usual self today" Mercy said, and Rogue could hear her step away from them.

"That's what I was afraid of."

"Well what do you expect? We've had a guest today." Mercy replied. "Is Henri here? I want him to meet Rogue before Remy has to take her back."

"Yes" Jean-Luc said. "He's on the phone with Theoren. Theoren wants his brother to have his Tilling soon."

"What's a tilling?" asked Rogue.

"The Tilling is an initiation before becoming a Guild Thief" came an unfamiliar voice from another part of the room. "The prospective member completes a designated job on his own, with an experienced Thief serving as backup and observer. If the person completes the job successfully, he or she becomes a full-fledged member of the Guild."

"Hello _mon mari_" Mercy said, and Rogue could hear them kiss. "Rogue, this is Remy's brother, my husband Henri; the handsome one of the family."

"Sure, if you go for bald men" Remy snickered.

"Hair isn't everything, Remy" Henri said. "Rogue, it's nice to meet you. I have to thank you for keeping my little brother on his toes. Papa, I've talked to Theoren, and I agree that Etienne's ready for his Tilling."

"Very well" Jean-Luc said. "You know that I trust your judgment. Have you set a date?"

"No, Theoren wants to wait until school lets out in a month and Etienne's free for the summer." Henri said. "And Remy, Etienne's asked to have you with him for it."

Remy was silent a moment. "Is he sure? I would think he'd want his brother for this." He said.

"No, you know he's always looked up to you. It would mean a lot to him if you did this for him" Henri said, and Rogue began to understand that this was something very important.

"Alright, I'll do it." Remy said. "I'll give him a call this weekend."

"Good." Jean-Luc said. "Now do you have to take Rogue back soon? It's almost 4:30"

Remy sighed. "Yeah, unfortunately." Rogue was surprised that it was so late already. The day had certainly gone by fast.

"Would you like a drink before you leave?" Jean-Luc asked her.

"Um, sure. Lemonade is fine" she said, and resigned herself to having to go back to the home. She wondered what kind of attitude Candace was going to have when she got back. It wouldn't be fun, but she just had to remember that the woman couldn't do anything about her coming here; not without getting into a lot of trouble with the state.

Remy took her hand and as they walked to the kitchen she could hear Mercy behind them, telling Henri about their day. Entering the kitchen she could hear Mattie moving purposefully around, the delicious smells telling her that dinner was under way.

"Tante, Rogue's just going to have some lemonade before I take her back" Remy said, and she noticed that he didn't call it her home anymore.

"I'm sorry you can't stay for dinner, Rogue" Mattie said. "We're having pork roast and vegetables."

She smiled in response. "So am I, that sounds wonderful. But so's your lemonade; I love it."

"Why thank you, child." Tante Mattie sounded pleased. Meanwhile, Remy had come back from where he had left her a moment ago and put a cold glass into her hand.

"Thanks. Why don't we get out of her way?" Rogue asked, and in response Remy took her and they went over to the kitchen table. "Do you guys have dinner in here?" she asked after they had sat down.

"No, just breakfast and lunch. Dinner we have in the dining room" Mercy said, and took a seat next to Rogue.

"Where's Emil?" Remy asked.

"He's on the couch in the living room; it looks like he fell asleep while playing video games." Mercy replied. "I'll wake him up when dinner's ready" she commented evilly, and Rogue could just imagine some of the ways she'd wake the younger man up.

"That sounds rather evil" she said, and Mercy laughed.

"No it's not. If I was feeling mean I'd have Henri do it."

"Trust me, she's being nice" Remy said.

"I swear, you guys are something else" Rogue laughed.

"I know; don't you just love it?" Mercy replied, still chuckling. "I promise, you'll never be bored here, Rogue."

She smiled in reply. "I can tell already."

When she had finished her lemonade, Remy got up from the table. "I suppose we should get out of here" he said.

"Okay" Rogue said as she also rose from the table. "It was really nice meeting all of you. Thank you so much for letting me come here." It was the only way she could think of to say thank you. Other than Sarah, there hadn't been anyone worth being polite to since she came to the home, but now she needed to get back into practice again.

"You're very welcome, Rogue", Mattie said from the other side of the kitchen. "It was good to meet you too. You have a good night and we'll see you tomorrow. Remy, you be careful now taking her back" This last part was more on the stern side. Remy didn't seem to take offense to it though.

"Yes Tante" he replied, and taking Rogue's hand, led her out of the kitchen as various goodbyes followed after them.

"So, how did you like _ma famille_?" he asked once they were outside. Rogue could hear him take the motorcycle helmets out of the compartment. She traded her cane for the helmet and put it on.

"I like them a lot" she said, and climbed up behind him on the bike. And she did. Even Henri and Jean-Luc, who she had only met for a few minutes; they both seemed like people she could like.

"That's good, they liked you too", he said, and starting the bike, they drove off down the street. It seemed too quickly that they arrived at the home, and as Rogue gave the helmet back to Remy, she regretted having to put up with this place for the night. She just had to remember that she'd be back at Remy's house tomorrow though.

"Umm…..thanks for bringing me over there, Remy" she said, still feeling a little weird at being nice to the guy she had been having fun tormenting just recently.

"You're welcome", he said, and they walked into the building. "I get two things out of this. I'm being a good boy and doing my good deed for the day, and I'm pissing off that little rat in the front office." Rogue could hear the glee in his voice.

She shook her head slowly as she mentally counted off the number of steps to her room. "You're really going to get yourself in trouble with her one of these days, Swamp Rat."

"Maybe, maybe not" he said. "I'll still have fun with it either way."

Rogue stopped at her door. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose" he replied cheekily. "I'll see you at least."

"Oh good grief, you know what I mean" she said, and the exclamation of pain he made when she got him in the leg with her cane was quite satisfying. At least she could still get him without feeling guilty after all he had done for her yesterday and today. She didn't want him to think she was getting soft, after all.

"Ok I think I'm going home now, while I can still walk" Remy announced, and stepped away from her. "See you tomorrow."

"Yep. Bye" Rogue said, and went into her to relax a little before dinner.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy stepped out of the building with a little smile on his face. Things had gone rather well, he thought. Rogue had laughed more today than she had the entire time he'd known her so far. She had seemed to relax, she liked his family, and he had come away from it relatively undamaged. His family liked her, too. Mercy seemed to have found a new best friend in Rogue; and he had thought it rather amusing the way Rogue had blushed when his _pere_ had kissed her hand. _Wonder if I could ever make her blush like that?_ He thought, and then wondered why he had thought it. She was just his job; though there was a possibility that maybe they could become friends. That and having her at his home during the week would make this whole community service thing a lot easier to deal with; he'd just be hanging out with a friend, instead of feeling like he was playing babysitter like Candace wanted. The thought of Candace made him want to spit though, like he had something nasty in his mouth, so he'd stop thinking of her.

After putting his helmet on, he straddled his bike and turned it on, so caught up in thoughts of the past day and what he could do tomorrow to make Rogue smile that as he drove out of the parking lot he never noticed the figure in the shadow of the tree across the street, hatred burning in a pair of dark eyes.


	15. The Mouse and The Mushroom

AN:

AN: Of course I don't anything here. There'll be more action in the next chapter, but I just wanted to get this out there for those who have been clamoring for the two women in Remy's life to meet.

O-o-o-o-O

"I don't believe you" Belle said with a snort of laughter. Sprawled across one of the arm chairs in their father's living room, she was casual, elegant and beautiful, and Julien's heart twisted bitterly.

"I tell you, _petite soeur,_ I've seen them together. They were taking a nap together at the park, argued like an old married couple, and then yesterday he comes out of that state home she lives in with a dreamy smile on his face. You know how he is with the girls……"

"No, not Remy. He promised to stop all that when we got engaged; he hasn't so much as looked at another woman since then. He knows I'd slit his throat open if he did" she said suspiciously and shook her head, blonde curls falling around her perfect face. "Besides, a blind girl living in a state home; what could he see in her? And she can't see anything in him" she finished with a sardonic little smile on her face.

Julien sighed. As he often did, he again wondered what his sister saw in Remy LeBeau. Yes, the man was good looking and charming, but he had a reputation for playing around and to Julien he was just a snake in a trench coat. Not only that, but he was also a goddamned mutant and the golden child of their family's sworn enemy. Everyone talked about peace, but the only peace to be had would only happen when every damned lowly Thief was ground into the dust. It wasn't something to be bought with his sister's body and life.

"Bella, we can still end this. It's not too late for you to say no; give the ring back, stop this whole mess. You don't have to marry him, there are other ways to stop this feud" he said, almost pleadingly.

"Julien" she replied, her face softening. "When will you understand? I love him. I know you just want to protect me, but I love him, and together we're going to make everything alright for both families. I just wish I could understand this insane hatred you have for him. If you could just come to know him like I know him.."

"He's not good enough for you."

She smiled. "Of course you're going to say that, you're my brother."

_No one's good enough for you, petite soeur. If only…….._

Julien turned away from her, to escape the familial affection on her face. "Exactly. I'm your brother, and it's my duty to protect you, since our father betrays us by throwing you away to people who aren't good enough for you to spit on."

"But Julien…."

"No" he said harshly. "If you won't believe me, then go to him. Today. He brought her into his _home_ Bella. If she's only his job, why is he bringing her to meet his family? Go see him. Go see _her_. They'll probably be there again today. She's a pretty girl, and he may have promised to be faithful, but he's still Remy LeBeau, and his eyes are straying. See what he is before it's too late."

"Fine" Belle said, and he could hear her getting up. "I'll go, but only to prove to you that you're wrong." He could hear her move up behind him and he turned around to kiss her forehead.

"I just don't want you hurt" he said quietly, looking down at her. "Father isn't thinking right, and you're going to be crushed in this war for his madness."

Belle shook her head. "No, you're wrong. It's the right thing to do, and Remy and I are the right ones to do it. You'll see. You'll be happy for me. I'll see you later" she said, and leaned up to kiss his cheek before leaving the room.

As the door shut behind her Julien swore and went over to his father's cabinet to pour a drink. _Damn you gods, for doing this to her. For doing this to me. If I…….damn you._ A wave of pure hatred swept through him and he downed the glass of bourbon in one shot. It was too early in the morning to be drinking, but his life seemed to consist of defying conventions, so what was one more? He hated that he had to stand by and watch the most precious thing in his life throw herself away, when he couldn't tell her that he…… No. It was wrong. He knew that it was wrong. It was unnatural and unholy. He'd burn in hell for his thoughts. But it was also unfair, that the person he'd come to love more than anything in the world was the one person he could never have, couldn't even think of ever having. It wasn't anything he'd ever intended, but from the first day his parents had brought her home from the hospital he thought she was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. Growing up before that had been lonely; he was Marius Boudreaux's son and the heir apparent of the Guild, so the other children were not good enough for him to associate with. Bella became his best friend and his confidant; they were devoted to each other, practically inseparable. When he grew older he dated, but the girls he went out with weren't as pretty as Bella, weren't as smart, not as funny and didn't understand him the way she did. When Bella began to date he stayed on the sidelines and watched, hating every boy that took her out. At first he thought it was proper brotherly feelings of protectiveness, but eventually he realized what had happened and it made him want to curl up inside of himself and die. He was in love with his sister. Hopelessly and completely. Something was wrong with him; he was sick to feel what he did.

Not being able to act on or even indicate that he felt the way did, he channeled his passion into other things. Julien became second only to his father in his skill as an Assassin. He honed his skills with a sword until he could have been a champion if he had wanted. And all the while he watched his little sister like a hawk, finding fault with every boy she brought home since he knew that no one could ever be good enough for her. And Bella listened to him, usually giving them up after a few dates.

Until Remy LeBeau. When they began seeing each other Julien was furious, because for the first time he could see that she was really serious about him, that Remy could succeed where others had failed and take her away from him. And when they had announced their engagement, Julien could feel something within him die, and he found himself hating Remy LeBeau more than he had ever hated anything in his life. It made betrayal and treachery so much easier after that. He felt absolute satisfaction when Remy was arrested and would have rejoiced to see him in prison, but unfortunately his father had put a stop to that.

He had found a new way to get Remy out of his sister's life though. Remy may have promised to be faithful, but this new girl in his life had potential to be trouble, it was already obvious. Bella had always been a very jealous girl; Julien would play on that, whether there was truth in Remy's possible interest or not, until she saw him for the snake that he was.

Then his sister would break this engagement and stay home where she belonged.

With him.

O-o-o-o-O

The first indication Remy had that it was going to be a bad day was the thunderclouds he saw outside the window when he woke up that morning. Dark and gloomy, they covered the sky, hiding all but the bravest attempts of the sun to peek through. It was on days like this when he just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, since he knew inevitably it would pour; not a light, pleasant rain, but a downpour that would pound the roof and windows, instantly drenching those brave enough to go outside. Not a good day for riding a motorcycle; and definitely not a good day for helping Rogue play tourist. But unfortunately probation agreements couldn't be suspended on account of the weather…._now there's an idea……….._ he thought to himself in amusement. Alas, one's debt to society must be paid in full, rain or shine, which meant getting up.

Eventually.

Yep, he really should get up now.

Really, he should……

What he did next though was just smash his hand against the snooze button on his alarm when it went off a few minutes later.

"Remy LeBeau you get up right now!" came from downstairs a minute after that.

Sometimes he wondered if his Tante was psychic.

So up he must get, and up he got, giving the pillow a mournful, longing look as he left it. The clouds were still there when he got out of the shower, and he wondered how he and Rogue could keep themselves occupied on a rainy day. Rainy days were the kind that required things like board games, but about the only board game he could think of that a blind girl could play was Trivial Pursuit, and they hadn't had a copy of that around since Emil dropped the last one in the pool. Was it Remy's fault that he had a better knowledge of art than his cousin? Kind of, yeah, but that was still no reason for him to drown the game. Still, that left him with not much around to entertain a sightless guest. On the other hand though, it wasn't raining yet, so he had time in the meanwhile to think of something to do when it actually did rain, which it would, eventually. They might have time to wander around downtown, check out the street musicians, and maybe grab some lunch before the downpour came.

After dressing he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. From the dishes in the sink he knew that his _pere_ and Henri had left already, but Mercy and Emil were at the table; Mercy working on a bowl of cereal and Emil nursing a cup of coffee, looking a little worse for wear.

"Long night, _mon ami_?" Remy asked, making his way to the fridge.

Emil nodded. "Yeah. Nobody bothered to tell me that those people kept dogs" he said, making a face. "Nice long haired ones."

Remy made a brief noise of sympathy. His cousin was allergic to dogs, and breaking into a house that had them tended to make him suffer for a good part of the next day. "Any trouble getting out?"

"No. Thankfully they all seemed to be heavy sleepers, the dogs included. Was in and out clean as a whistle. Henri's got the files." Emil's target last night was a businessman who was trying to blackmail an associate of the Guild's. The info he brought back would help the Guild point the finger at him instead.

"You should be getting to bed, boy" Tante Mattie commented as she ate her own breakfast. It seemed to be an informal morning today, with everyone getting their food. Remy took juice and cream cheese out of the fridge, then popped a bagel into the toaster.

"Yes Tante" Emil mumbled, picking at a muffin sitting on a plate next to his coffee. "Just gonna eat first."

"Mercy, can I borrow your car today? I want to take Rogue downtown but I don't want us getting dumped on" Remy said. "You can join us if you want; I thought I'd take her to one of the cafes for lunch."

"Sure" Mercy nodded. "I need to finish some paperwork for Henri but you can pick me up after you get Rogue if you want."

Remy sat down at the table with his bagel. "Okay. Any ideas on where to take her? I can't think of anything right now."

Mercy thought for a moment. "Usually I'd suggest shopping, but I don't know if she'd really appreciate it since she can't see. I think I saw somewhere that there are some comedians performing this week though. She might like that."

"That's an idea" Remy said through a mouthful of bagel.

His sister in law rolled her eyes. "That's so polite Remy. Do you do that around Rogue, too?"

Remy swallowed. "Hey it's not like she can see it. Besides, she's used to me being rude."

"You'd better not be being rude to that girl" Mattie warned as she brought her dishes up to the sink.

"Tante, she was pretty much inviting it when I first met her" Remy defended himself.

"Don't matter; I thought I raised you better than that" Mattie replied. "I'd better not be hearing about you doing it any more."

Remy shrugged. "I can't help it; she brings out the worst in me sometimes. But she was actually pretty decent yesterday. I think it was getting out of the home that did it to her."

Mattie nodded. "Good. I had a feeling bringing her here would be good for her."

"Either that or she just didn't want to get on your bad side, Tante" Emil smirked from the other side of the table.

"A person would think that you'd wise up and not do that, Emil Lapin" Mercy said.

The younger man just shrugged and ate a bite of his muffin. "You and Tante are always telling me that my head's full of rocks; I might as well live up to my reputation." He picked up the remains of the muffin and got up from the table. "Bring her back over when you're done showing her around, okay Remy? I'm sure we can find something to do."

"We could have played Trivial Pursuit if you hadn't drowned the game" Remy commented dryly.

Emil shrugged. "I was tired of losing. Anyway, I'm going to bed" he said, and wiped at his stuffed up nose. "Damn dogs" he muttered as he left the kitchen.

Remy popped the last of the bagel into his. "I need to get out of here" he said as he chewed, glancing at the clock on the stove. "The last thing I need is that pitbull at the home writing me up for being late." He pulled his trench coat on and put his dishes in the sink. "We'll be over in a little while to pick you up" he told Mercy.

"Okay. See you later……Swamp Rat" she grinned.

Remy stuck his tongue out at his sister in law and headed for the door.

"Swamp Rat?" he heard Tante Mattie ask curiously.

"Just Rogue's pet name for him" laughed Mercy.

The last thing he heard before leaving the house was his Tante's laugh coming from the kitchen.

The clouds had shown no sign of clearing up by the time he reached the home. If anything, they had gotten darker; not enough to indicate an immediate downpour, but just a warning that it was getting nearer. Deciding to play it safe, Remy knocked on Candace's office door and waited for her response before entering. She glanced up from her newspaper and frowned at him.

"You're late, Mr. LeBeau."

He glanced at the clock on the wall and rolled his eyes. "Good grief, it's only five past. Are you going to start being petty now?"

The frown got deeper. "Watch it. I can still report to your probation officer, lawyer or no lawyer."

"Which means since you couldn't get your way you're going to take it out on me in little pieces" Remy commented dryly. "That's so mature."

"You're digging your own grave, you know."

"You won't do anything to me Candace, and you know it. I'm the first person here who's ever been able to get anywhere with Rogue, and given your fear of mutants, you'd prefer to have her as much out of your hair as possible, isn't that right?"

Candace glared at him. "Don't push it Remy. Don't start thinking that you can walk all over me or I _will _see you back in prison. I don't have to keep Rogue here; there are other places she can be sent to. She might find that she was better off here though. Now take her and get out of here, and don't be late bringing her back."

Remy sighed and left the office without responding. He didn't like the tone in Candace's voice when she spoke of sending Rogue to other places. He'd heard of abuses in state facilities, and other than neglect and paranoia, she seemed to be safe where she was. He didn't want to do anything that would make her situation worse.

Breakfast should be ending around now, but Rogue didn't eat much so he decided to check her room first. Approaching her door he could hear loud, obnoxious music playing; it took a moment for him to recognize it as the Ramones. He was surprised she could hear him knock, but he heard her yell to come in and the volume on the music went down. Remy opened the door and found Rogue curled up in her rocking chair, gloves off and stuffed cat in her lap.

"So you wanna be sedated, eh?" He grinned, as the music continued in the background. "Do that and we can't go anywhere today."

"Hey Swamp Rat" Rogue said with a little smile. "Hang around here long enough and you'll want to be sedated too."

"True, true" Remy commented. He looked around. "Did you finish reading your book already?"

"Yeah, I finished that last night. Candace said she'd bring another one tonight, so I told her she might as well bring the entire box."

"Probably a good idea, but then again starting tomorrow you'll be back to studying. So you ready to go? I thought we'd wander around downtown" Remy said.

Rogue frowned. "Um, sure. But isn't it supposed to rain today? That's what they were saying on the radio."

"Yeah, it's pretty cloudy out, but I've got Mercy's car and we can just go back to the house if it rains. She's joining us for lunch, by the way."

"Sounds good" she said, and the smile returned. Getting up from the chair, she tossed the cat onto the bed and put her gloves on. "Do you think I'll need an umbrella?"

"Nah" Remy said. "Mercy keeps one in the car for emergencies. We're going to stop and pick her up before going downtown. Come on, let's go." And he headed out of her room, knowing she'd catch up with him.

Outside, they climbed into Mercy's car and headed back to Remy's house, and Rogue fiddled with the buttons on the stereo, making several mistakes until she found something he thought he recognized.

"Hey, Kristian Leontiou; I didn't think they played him over here" Rogue said happily as the radio played "Fall and I Will Catch You".

"They don't" Remy said. "This is satellite radio. You've found one of the British stations. I thought you didn't like anything that wasn't loud, obnoxious or just plain weird."

"I happen to have a variety of tastes in music" Rogue said defensively. "I've just been in the mood for angrier stuff lately."

"That's definitely understandable" Remy admitted. "Having to put up with Candace would make anyone want to listen to Marilyn Manson." He didn't mention the woman's veiled threat earlier. She didn't need to be worrying about stuff like that.

When they arrived back at the house Remy was distracted by helping Rogue out of the car, otherwise he would have noticed a familiar looking car parked a little ways up the street. They entered the house and Remy called out for his sister in law.

"Hey Mercy, you ready to go?" Instead of her reply though, came a silken voice to his right.

"Ready to go where, _chere,_ and who's your friend?"

_Oh merde….._

He turned his head and saw Belle leaning in the doorway of the library, arms crossed. Mercy came out from the kitchen.

"Sorry Remy" she said. "I told her you were out for the day but she insisted on staying."

"Hey Belle" Remy said, trying to act casual and happy to see her. Usually he would be happy to see her, but he had Rogue with him and his fiancée tended to get jealous; this could possibly be trouble.

"This is Rogue, the girl I'm playing companion to for my probation. Rogue, this is my fiancée, Belle."

Belle looked the other girl over, and a calculating look came over her face. _Oh no, please don't start imagining things _ Remy groaned internally. Yes, Rogue was a pretty girl, but it was his job to spend time with her, not something that he had a choice in, even if they were getting along better. He just hoped that Rogue curbed her tongue. _Fat chance._

"Rogue" Belle mused, disdain in her voice. "Kind of an odd name, don't you think? How on earth did your mother come up with that?"

"I don't know, how did yours come up with naming you after a poisonous mushroom?" Rogue asked sarcastically.

"It's not a mushroom, it's a plant; obviously you haven't seen one before" Belle said with a smirk. "Study botany much?" Remy noted with amusement that she hadn't fallen into the same trap regarding her name that he and Julien had. His amusement fell away when he saw the look on Rogue's face. She was getting ready for a fight.

"Oh I've seen one before; years ago, but I've seen one" she said. "Just seems more suited to a mushroom; the name, I mean" she said, smiling innocently.

Remy decided he'd better step in before Rogue's cane came into use. "So Belle, what are you doing here? I told you I have to be with Rogue at the home during the week."

"Oh, nothing important" Belle shrugged. "That does make me curious though, if you're supposed to be at the home, what are you doing here? Isn't that a little odd, bringing your assignment home?" she asked, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"The woman in charge of the home is a real bitch, and basically just wants Rogue out of her hair as much as possible. She agreed to let Rogue come over here; Papa's also getting her a tutor since the woman's too paranoid to let Rogue go to school."

"Interesting. Don't you think you're doing an awful lot for someone who's just your community service assignment?" Belle asked, looking over Rogue again. Remy was just glad that Rogue couldn't see the look on her face.

"Hey, I'm her companion; it's my job to keep her company and occupied. Besides, maybe I could get brownie points with the state for good behavior." He said.

"Riiiiiiiight" Belle didn't seem to be buying it. As much as he loved her, her jealousy annoyed him sometimes. He thought she trusted him, he'd promised to be faithful to her. He supposed it was his own fault though, for having played around so much before they started dating. He's given her no reason to be jealous so far, and he didn't plan to start.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rogue shift uncomfortably and grip her cane tightly.

Thankfully Mercy saved the day. "Other than an occasional bout of stupidity, Remy's been very good to her, and we've enjoyed having her over, the entire family likes her. Now we were just going to go downtown and wander around for awhile before having lunch, I'm sure Remy could call you later…." She said as she approached the little group.

"Lunch? Oh that's perfect!" Belle exclaimed, a smug smile on her face. "We can all go together, that way Remy and I can spend some time together like I wanted. I'm sure Rogue would have more fun exploring the shops with you, Mercy, than putting up with Remy."

This really wasn't going well. Remy decided he should have stayed in bed this morning after all. "Belle, I can't really do that. This supposed to be my probation, I could get in trouble if I get caught goofing off with you when I'm supposed to be doing my job."

His fiancée shrugged. "So we'll all stay together then. They can't complain about that; you can tell them you're introducing her to new people."

"Well I suppose…." Remy said, and glanced at Rogue. He wasn't sure what was going through her head, but she didn't look too happy. Mercy was glaring daggers at him. _How the hell is this my fault? _ He glared back at her.

"Excellent! It's decided" Belle said, and grabbing Remy's hand, began marching him out the door. Internally Remy couldn't help but wonder if his life insurance was paid up.

O-o-o-o-O

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I almost feel sorry for Julien. Almost.


	16. Sir Lancelot and the Green Eyed Monster

AN: Insert standard disclaimer here I apologize to those who were disturbed by Julien's feelings toward Belle in the last c

AN: Insert standard disclaimer here I apologize to those who were disturbed by Julien's feelings toward Belle in the last chapter; I should have provided some kind of warning. Please be warned now though, that this is a plotline that will continue through the story. And now that Series 4 of Doctor Who has finished (any other Whovians out here in Evolution-verse?), I can concentrate a little more on my writing. No more Doctor until 2010. GAH!!

I also award points to Belle for not falling into the "she's not a mushroom she's a plant" trap that both her brother and fiancé have fallen into.

O-o-o-o-O

_If this is Remy's idea of a good time, he's crazy, _Rogue thought to herself as she sat with Mercy in the back of her car. Anything had to be better than listening to Belle's sweet voice chatter to Remy about dates for their wedding. She supposed it could be worse though; she could be stuck back at the home. Actually, right now that would be better. At least there she could bug Candace for a book and be content for the rest of the day. But no, here she was stuck in the back of a car listening to Belladonna Boudreaux go over the pros and cons of the various months of the year.

"June is such a lovely month, but everyone gets married in June and down here it's just too hot and muggy for a wedding, the guests would be sweating to death during the ceremony; October is a nice month, what do you think, _chere?" _

"Hmm……" came a rather non-committal sound from the driver's seat.

"I'll ask Tante Mattie and see what she thinks. Father will agree of course……."

And so on and so on, ad nauseum, with the emphasis being on 'nauseum'. Rogue didn't know how Remy put up with it. What did he see in her, anyway? _Oh yeah, that's right too_, she thought to herself as a stray memory of Remy's came up in her mind, of blonde curls, blue eyes and a mischievous smile. _Well, she is beautiful, I'll give her that. Don't know if I could stand listening to this all the time though. He doesn't seem that patient._

Rogue tilted her head over in Mercy's general direction to her left. "Is she always like this?" she asked quietly.

"Heh….almost" Mercy said a small snort of laughter. "I think she's bumped it up a bit for your benefit. She didn't seem too happy when she saw you."

Rogue was confused. "Me? Why would I bother her?"

"Well, little Belle is just a bit possessive when it comes to Remy. She doesn't like to share."

"That's silly though" Rogue said. "I'm just an assignment for his community service. Just work." Remy's words earlier had hurt, and she knew they shouldn't since it was true, she was just his assignment, but she didn't like the reminder and had hoped to at least pretend that they could be friends. Although she didn't believe the part about helping her to get brownie points; he was in too much danger of getting in trouble with what he had done so far. That she believed was actually from concern for her.

"True I suppose, but you're also a very pretty girl and he's been very nice to you; despite nearly being maimed by that cane of yours. Me, I think he just wants to help you; but I don't think Belle sees it that way. It's not him she's giving nasty looks to though, it's you. I bet she thinks you're going to try to go after Remy yourself."

Rogue shook her head. "That's crazy. Why would I want to go after Remy? He's just a Swamp Rat." She paused a moment. "You really think I'm pretty?"

Mercy laughed. "Of course I do. You're very pretty. Belle thinks so too, otherwise she wouldn't have talked to you the way she did. Don't you know how you look?"

"I……I haven't seen myself in years. I was ten when I had the accident, so that's the last picture I have of myself" Rogue said. She knew that she had developed, that her body was curvier now than the slender child she had been, and she was taller; but otherwise she couldn't picture what her face or the rest of her must look like. When she absorbed people she shoved the memories that were forced upon her away as quickly as possible without looking at them, so she hadn't noticed anything regarding herself in the minds of the people she touched.

"Well Belle has every reason to think she should be jealous, because you're a beautiful young woman, Rogue. Personally I don't think Remy has any intention of cheating on her, because if Belle doesn't kill him then Jean-Luc and Marius would, but I would find it very amusing to see her have a snit fit, even if there wasn't any truth in it." Mercy said, keeping her voice low.

The one-sided conversation continued in the front of the car and Rogue felt comfortable enough with Mercy to lean a little closer.

"You don't like her much, do you?" she asked; remember Mercy and Remy's conversation regarding his fiancée yesterday.

"Nope. Not at all. The whole family's rotten, even without the business they're in. Marius is conniving and Julien's just dangerous, but with those two at least you know where you stand. She may not seem like it, but Belle's a snake; she can strike from nowhere without you being any the wiser, which is why she's so good an Assassin. I'd rather deal with her father or brother any day." Mercy said as her voice dropped almost down to a whisper.

"Are you sure we should be talking about this here?" Rogue whispered, worried now about being heard by the snake up front who was now discussing locations for her wedding ceremony. Now more than ever she was wondering what the hell Remy was doing marrying this girl.

"Not to worry" Mercy said assuredly. "Belle's too caught up in her topic and Remy's too split between driving and listening to her to pay any attention to us. It is a rather depressing topic though, and we're supposed to be having fun today."

"Don't know how much fun we can have, between the weather and part of the company" Rogue frowned. "How bad does it look out there? The guy on the radio said to expect a downpour."

"It does look pretty bad" Mercy said. "The clouds are almost black, and with it being as muggy as it's gotten I'd say we're definitely going to get dumped on. But it's not raining yet, so in the meantime we'll wander around while we can, and when it does rain I've got a nice big umbrella, which I'm thinking will probably only cover us two girls" she finished with a laugh.

"Aren't you afraid your future sister in law will melt?" Rogue asked sarcastically.

"Oh lord, don't call her that" Mercy said. "No, actually I'd prefer it if she did."

"Does anyone in your family like her?"

Mercy sighed. "Henri doesn't, but he's always been the more practical one and sees this as being for the good of the Guild. Jean-Luc is practical, but he also hopes that Belle is enough of her own person to get past the familial troubles and make Remy happy. Emil just plain can't stand her."

"What about Tante Mattie?" Rogue asked.

"Tante likes to see the good in everybody, so the fact that she seems to like Belle must mean there's some in her somewhere" Mercy said.

"No one's completely evil" Rogue murmured.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just something Irene said. No one is completely bad or good. I can't imagine your family letting Remy marry her if she was completely evil" Rogue whispered somewhat reluctantly. It was true though; as much as she disliked this girl already on short acquaintance, there must be something that Jean-Luc and Mattie saw in her to allow the marriage to go through. Personally she was thinking they were crazy, but then she had just met Belle. She just hoped for Remy's sake that they were right and she was just feeling catty.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I still think she's a snake" Mercy whispered. "I think she's had long enough to talk to herself about churches, gazebos and parks though." She said, then raised her voice. "Hey Remy, the talk radio session going on up there is putting us to sleep. How about putting the radio on?"

Rogue laughed. "Yeah really. If your sister in law here starts snoring I take no responsibility for the consequences."

"Yes _chere_, your wish is my command" came Remy's sarcastic voice from the front of the car. Rogue heard a small noise of disgust from the passenger seat, then the garble of voices on the radio until a familiar sound made her smile.

"What the hell is this?" Belle asked in annoyance.

"Sometimes you just feel like some Marilyn Manson, right Rogue?" Remy asked in amusement.

Rogue just laughed and sang along.

_Babble babble bitch bitch…….._

O-o-o-o-O

Remy parked the car somewhere and Rogue sniffed the air as they wandered down the street; she and Mercy following behind Remy and Belle. The yummy scents of spices, meat and flowers mixed with the less pleasant ones of asphalt, garbage, and the occasional one of human waste made her wrinkle her nose as they walked. People brushed past them, sometimes bumping into her, and Rogue tried not to get startled when it happened. She hadn't been in any really crowded areas for a long time; the area where the home was wasn't hugely populated and her previous companions had always kept people away from her when walking. Mercy just walked though, describing various things that they went past, and Rogue made sure to keep her cane out of the other girl's way.

"A few blocks away from here they have a puppet show for the kids on the weekends…..damn it's muggy today. I think I wish it would just rain and get it over with" Mercy said. "I don't know how you wear those long-sleeved shirts all the time. Aren't you roasting?"

Rogue sighed. Of _course_ she was roasting. She couldn't even roll her sleeves up though, out of fear of someone touching her or Candace's fear of her touching someone.

"Yeah, of course I am. No bare skin, though, remember? Someone could touch me by accident." She said with some annoyance. What she wouldn't give for a tank top and shorts right now.

"Sorry, I forgot" Mercy said apologetically, and Rogue relaxed, feeling guilty for snapping at the girl who'd been so nice to her so far.

"It's okay" Rogue said with a shake of her head. "I shouldn't get testy like that. It's hard to be comfortable here in this weather when you have to be completely covered."

"I suppose. You shouldn't have to sweat to death in the name of protecting others though. I don't see why we couldn't find something that could keep you covered but not make you hot all the time. Did you know you're wearing all black?"

"No, I didn't." Rogue wasn't surprised though. Candace had done the shopping the last time she had needed clothes, and she doubted the woman would have bothered to find something remotely approaching fashionable. Rogue had some long summer skirts from when she lived in Mississippi, but Candace preferred to keep her in long sleeved shirts and jeans.

"Nothing wrong with it, really; you look good in black, but it just soaks up heat which really sucks in hot weather. You need some lighter colors and lighter fabrics..." Mercy stopped. "Hey Remy!" she called.

"What is it?" Rogue heard him reply from ahead of them.

"We're taking Rogue shopping. She's roasting to death back here" Mercy said in a confident voice that didn't seem to leave any room for refusal.

Rogue stopped. "But I don't have any money, not until I turn eighteen."

Mercy just patted her arm. "It's okay; after your birthday you can just take me out to dinner in nice expensive restaurant" she said, and gave Rogue's arm a gentle tug. "Come on. We'll torture Remy by making him watch you try stuff on."

"Hey, I haven't said yes yet" Remy said.

"Who said I was asking?" Mercy said.

"Oh please Remy, it's excellent idea" Belle said happily. "I can find some stuff to wear on our honeymoon."

This was one of those occasions where Rogue was almost glad she couldn't see. She wasn't sure if she could stomach watching Belle trying on pretty dresses and nightgowns for Remy. The girl was just so…….._girly._

"I think you're outnumbered, Swamp Rat" Rogue said with a laugh.

"Swamp Rat?" Belle asked in confusion.

"It's my pet name for him" Rogue said with a grin. "Don't you think it fits?"

"No, I don't" Belle said. "Has anyone ever told you you're weird?"

"Thank you!" Rogue said cheerfully as they continued to walk. "So where are we going shopping?" she asked out loud, then dropped her voice. "Thanks for doing this for me, I will pay you back, I promise."

"No problem; you just owe me a really good dinner" Mercy said. She then continued in a more normal tone. "There's a shop on the next street over that has some nice stuff. Hey Remy, we're going to Charlotte's Closet."

"I don't know why Henri hasn't had a heart attack by now, after seeing what you spend on clothes" Remy said.

"Oh believe me Remy, the fashion shows he gets at night quickly stop the complaining" Mercy laughed.

"Please Mercy, keep my brother's love life to yourself" Remy pleaded. "I don't need the mental images."

"Oh please Remy, I doubt anything could disturb _your_ mind" Mercy said derisively.

"Hey, none of that. You're going to have Rogue thinking I'm a complete perv" Remy protested.

"So what?" Belle said scornfully.

If Rogue's eyes had worked, she would have been narrowing them in annoyance. As it was, she gripped her cane tightly and kept herself from swatting the girl in front of her with it. Just the tone of Belle's voice, implying that it didn't matter what Rogue thought, set her teeth on edge.

"It's okay Remy" she said with a mix of consolation and smugness in her tone of voice, "I've seen your thoughts, remember? I know you're not a perv. Not completely anyway." She finished with a smirk.

The thumping sound as her cane hit something softer than pavement and the exclamation of pain in front of her told her that Belle had stopped.

"Damnit! Be careful with that thing!" Belle cursed.

Rogue heard Mercy laugh next to her. "Well you should know better than to make a sudden stop when walking in front of a blind person" she said, still laughing.

"Oh stay out of it" Belle said spitefully. "Now what do you mean, you've seen his thoughts?" she demanded from Rogue.

"Your fiancé was stupid enough to touch me on our first day together" Rogue answered, making a face. "I ended up getting a good dose of thoughts, including you. It was enough to give me nightmares." She didn't mention what had actually given her nightmares; that was between herself and Remy.

"What were you doing touching her, Remy?" Belle asked, something a little more than curiosity in her voice.

Rogue heard the exasperation in Remy's sigh. "Long story, Belle. I can't believe I'm saying this, but can we just go shopping now?"

"Fine. Rogue, I'm going to start walking now, okay?" Belle said tightly.

Rogue ground her teeth together. "Thanks for letting me know" she replied sarcastically.

Mercy touched her arm. "Come on, let's go. So many clothes, so little time" she said, then lowered her voice. "Don't let her get to you."

Rogue relaxed her grip on her cane as they started walking again. "She certainly makes it hard" she replied quietly.

"I know, but if you let her know it's working, she wins. Besides, this is your last day of vacation, so to speak, before you start studying tomorrow. It's supposed to be fun."

A smile crept over Rogue's face. "Yes ma'am" she said.

"That's better. Now let's see how big of a dent we can make in my husband's bank account." Mercy said gleefully.

O-o-o-o-O

According to Mercy, Charlotte's Closet was a rather upscale place; and as they walked in Rogue could smell a faint, pleasant scent of potpourri in the air, and jazz played in the background.

"Well it definitely smells like an upscale place" Rogue commented.

"Mercy! Belle!" called an enthusiastic voice from another part of the store. "I'll be right with you!"

"That's Sherry, the owner" Mercy said. "She's a little bundle of energy, and has great taste in clothes. You'll like her."

"Sherry, eh? So where did the Charlotte come from?" Rogue asked.

"Charlotte is Sherry's grandmother, and the original owner of the store. She retired years ago to become a little old lady with cats" Mercy said in amusement.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that" Sherry said, her voice coming closer. "I aspire to that some day myself. So who's your friend? Are you teaching her your bad habits? Not that I mind of course" she laughed. "I swear, any time either of these two come into the store I'm guaranteed that month's rent."

"Sherry, this is Rogue" Mercy said. "She has a…..condition that requires her to be covered, but I think she shouldn't have to suffer heatstroke because of it. I know you can help us out."

" Sherry, Remy and I will be over there trying out clothes for our honeymoon. Have fun playing dress-up, Rogue" Belle said sweetly. "Sherry's good; she should be able to help even you out."

"Umm, I'll just be over there if you need anything Rogue" Remy said uncertainly. "You just had to mention shopping, didn't you Mercy? I see your plan, you want to get me out of the wedding by having me die of boredom" he then complained to his sister in law.

"Hey whatever works. Now go away Remy" Mercy said, dismissing. Rogue heard him walk away in the same direction that Belle had gone.

"So, down to business" Sherry proclaimed. "Is there a particular style of clothing you like, Rogue? And what are your favorite colors?"

Rogue thought for a minute. With not being able to see what she wore she hadn't really given much thought to her clothes other than to make sure they were comfortable and kept her covered. She was willing to be open-minded and find out what Sherry had in mind.

"I don't know what styles I like, but my favorite colors are black, blue, green, purple and red. Pretty much anything except yellow and orange" she said, but then quickly added. "But no pastels."

"No, no pastels for you" Sherry said. "That wouldn't suit you at all. What do you think, Mercy?"

Mercy paused, and Rogue got the feeling the other girl was looking her over. "I definitely agree with you about colors, I wouldn't put her in brown either though. And I was thinking some lighter fabrics are exactly what she needs. Do you still have any of those crocheted tops that were in the last time I was here? Those would be perfect, and I think we should introduce Rogue to opera gloves."

"Opera gloves?" Rogue asked in curiosity.

"Yep, opera gloves" Sherry said. "With that you can wear short sleeved shirts and just have the longer gloves cover your arms. Come on, I'll show you."

Mercy touched Rogue's arm lightly and she followed the two further into the store.

Three hours later Rogue was feeling completely different. She now owned several tank tops with light tops of gauze or crocheted silk to go over them. There were long sleeved shirts too, but these were of light cotton and linen that were very comfortable. Also as promised Sherry had had her try short-sleeved shirts with elbow length gloves. There was a strip of skin exposed that had Rogue a little uncomfortable at first, but with Mercy assuring her that it was very unlikely that people would be trying to grab her there she relaxed a bit and thought maybe she could like it. To top it off were a couple of pairs of shorts, with tights to wear under them. Sherry had even gone as far as to cut little patterns in the tags so that Rogue could tell the colors apart. The only thing they couldn't find an alternative for was Rogue's need to be completely covered when swimming, but she assured Sherry that it wasn't important, and Mercy said that Rogue was welcome to use their pool in a normal swimsuit whenever she wanted, and that she could borrow one of hers. The changing had been awkward at first, as she was afraid of knocking out either of the women, but Sherry and Mercy were very careful, and told jokes until Rogue grew more comfortable changing clothes around others. She drew the line at shoes though, saying that her sneakers were perfectly comfortable and she had always been afraid of tripping with heels on.

Rogue was having a little difficulty believing this. She almost felt like she was in one of those movies were the nerdy girl gets a make over. Except in those there's always a hot guy waiting to fall for her by the end, and Remy was already taken. She didn't even know if he was hot anyway. Not that it mattered, as the two of them weren't like that. .And he was over in another part of the store anyway, watching his fiancée try on clothes for their honeymoon. She wondered if he was enjoying himself, or if he was bored to tears. She hoped it was the latter. He deserved it for letting her have to put up with Belle. To be fair though, it wasn't completely his fault; she had insisted on coming along with them. He could have put up a stronger protest though, but then again Rogue figured that Belle probably had him whipped. Hopefully she'd continue to stay occupied with Remy and leave her alone. Rogue didn't mind as she was having fun with Mercy.

Right now Sherry was ringing up their purchases. Rogue didn't even want to know what Mercy had spent on her today. She felt awkward having someone spend so much on her, but Mercy had assured her that she was having fun doing it and did she really want to continue to roast?

"I'll help you carry your bags Rogue" Mercy said when she was finished paying. Rogue almost protested, but then she realized it only made sense, as she needed one hand free for her cane.

"Thanks" she replied, and took one of the bags from the other girl.

"Hey Remy! Aren't you guys done yet?" Mercy called out to the other two people.

"Oh hang on Mercy, I'm trying to buy for a honeymoon here" Belle called back. "Surely you know how that is."

"Yes, but I didn't spend half the time you are preparing for mine" Mercy replied, and Rogue could hear footsteps coming their way.

"If my brother's telling the truth, you took twice as long" Remy commented as he and Belle rejoined the group. "Why do you girls have to buy so many clothes for a honeymoon?"

"That's because we're trying to look beautiful for you men" Mercy said.

"But most of us would be happy with you having _fewer_ clothes on" Remy said, and Rogue could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Stop being a perv, Remy" Belle said from a distance, and Rogue assumed she was paying for her own selections.

"I'm not being a perv, I'm being honest" Remy protested.

"You're also not being very gentleman-like" Mercy said. "You haven't even told Rogue how nice she looks in her new clothes."

"Oh, sorry Rogue" Remy said a little awkwardly. "You look really pretty."

"Umm, thanks" Rogue said, and felt her face get a little warm. She wasn't used to being complimented, especially from Remy.

"Much better" Mercy said. "As soon as your fiancée finishes paying, we can go to lunch."

"Good idea. Those clouds are getting darker. We'll want to eat soon before the downpour starts." Remy said.

A few minutes later Belle joined them and they left the store. Mercy and Rogue walked in front this time, since Belle said she didn't want to get attacked by Rogue's cane again. That was fine with Rogue; Mercy entertained her while they walked by telling her some of the history of the area. Behind them Belle continued on about the wedding; the type of cake, food, etc. There seemed to be a bit of disagreement about the cake, as Remy wanted chocolate and Belle wanted strawberry. Personally Rogue agreed with him; she'd take chocolate over strawberry any day. By the time they had reached the café though they had apparently come to a truce though, as Belle dropped the subject before the waiter led them to their table. Rogue ended up seated between Mercy and Remy, and after Remy read the menu to her she decided on a crawfish salad that sounded good. She sat back in her chair and sighed. Their table was outside and she could hear the chatter of the people around her, and that of people passing by. Nearby a band was playing music that sounded rather familiar, and she thought for a moment, trying to place it.

"Isn't that Squirrel Nut Zippers?" she asked Remy, finally recognizing "Memphis Exorcism".

"You're right, it is" he said. "Must be a cover band though, they broke up a few years ago."

"That sucks, I didn't hear about that." Rogue said.

"You actually listen to something other than that awful goth music? I'm surprised" Belle said from the other side of the table.

"I could say the same about you" Rogue replied. "I had you pegged for a pop princess. I bet you've got every album Madonna ever did, don't you?" From Remy's snicker, Rogue guessed that she was right.

"She certainly got you, Belle" he said. "Don't forget your New Kids on the Block collection, too."

"New Kids on the Block? Oh god" Rogue said in disgust. By this time she had taken off her gloves and was pulling apart a piece of baguette with butter from the basket the waiter had left them. She was comfortable having her gloves off this time; Remy had already learned a lesson from being stupid, Mercy was too smart to be stupid, and Belle was too far away from her to be stupid. The thought of having Belle's thoughts in her head made her want to shudder.

"I bet you listen to Prince, too" she said sarcastically.

"No, but she loves Mariah Carey" Remy said with a laugh.

"You're so funny Remy" Belle replied tightly. "At least I don't still own a Milli Vanilli album."

"Hey, that's going to be a collector's item some day." Remy protested.

"It's been 20 years, Remy" Rogue laughed. "I'd give it up if I were you."

His only response was a raspberry sound.

The waiter brought their food a few minutes later, and Rogue took a cursory glance over the salad with her fingers, eating the cherry tomatoes separately as they were difficult to eat with a fork if you couldn't see them. She also picked off the croutons and set them to the side; she never had liked them and had forgotten to ask for them not to be added.

"If you're not going to eat your croutons, Rogue, can I have them?" Remy asked.

She shrugged. "Sure, go ahead" she said, and ran her fingers over the salad again to see where the crawfish were.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?" Belle asked sarcastically.

"Belle, knock it off" Remy said.

Apparently she wasn't going to listen. "I can see why she doesn't have any friends" she continued. "She's insulting, weird, hits people and doesn't have any table manners."

"You haven't exactly been very nice to her either" Remy retorted. "You've been catty ever since you invited yourself along with us."

"Well what do you expect, after being told that my fiancé is taking naps in the park with another girl?" Belle said.

Mercy laughed. "You guys took a nap in the park together?"

"It was completely innocent" Remy said. "And I thought you trusted me, but apparently not if you've got your brother following me around like a spy."

"He wasn't spying." Belle said.

"Oh yeah? Well what was he doing there? Julien's not exactly the type to spend time communing with nature" he responded sarcastically.

Rogue just sat there with a mouthful of crawfish and lettuce. Remy was defending her. To his own fiancée. The woman he'd gushed about and was so happy about marrying. He hadn't done much earlier when Belle had been putting her down. She wondered what had changed. He was doing that more though, standing up for her. It felt weird to have someone do that for her. It also felt good though, and she thought she could get to like it.

"I don't know. But it doesn't change the fact that you two seem to be getting awfully cozy after just a couple of days" Belle said.

Remy laughed. "Cozy? Please. You could play tic tac toe with the bruises she's put on my legs with that cane."

Rogue swallowed her food and turned her head in Mercy's general direction. "What happened to having a nice, fun day?"

"I dunno, but I think this is rather fun" the other girl responded.

Rogue gave a snort of laughter. "You would."

Remy sighed. "Let's stop arguing in public like this. You're being ridiculous, Belle. Let's just eat and get out of here before we get dumped on."

"Don't think that I'm done with this, Remy LeBeau" Belle said, and fell silent.

There was an uncomfortable silence around the table for awhile as they ate. The crawfish salad was delicious though, as well as the pecan pie Rogue had for dessert. Mercy finally broke the silence the silence though by asking how she liked her food.

"It's very good" Rogue said. "What did you have again?"

"Cheeseburger."

"You guys are such true Southerners" Rogue laughed.

"Hey, there's more to life than po'boys and dirty rice" Mercy said. "Sometimes you've just got to have a nice, greasy cheeseburger."

"Okay, I can understand that" Rogue said.

"Good. Now let's get out of here. Those clouds look like they're going to break open any second."

When the waiter arrived with the check Mercy and Remy had a brief argument about who would pay for it, with Remy eventually winning. Remy took Rogue's chair out of the when she got up and handed her her cane after she'd put her gloves on. They left the restaurant with Rogue's hand tucked into Remy's arm, and after they'd left the building he let it go but stayed beside her, leaving Belle behind them with Mercy.

"I'm sorry about Belle" he apologized quietly as they walked. "It's not like she has anything to be jealous about."

"True." Personally Rogue thought that Belle sounded like the possessive type. She couldn't believe that the girl could feel jealous over the time that Remy spent with her fulfilling his commitment to the court.

Something wet landed on Rogue's face and she instinctively turned her head up, even though she wouldn't be able to see the sky. Some habits just never go away. Another drop fell on her nose; another on her cheek, faster this time.

"Feels like our luck has run out" Mercy said from behind them. They walked faster, but what started out as a sprinkle turned into a drizzle and then into an outright downpour.

"Stop a second" Remy said, and she heard a rustle of fabric from beside her. "Take my coat" he said, and she felt something drape over her.

"Umm, thanks" she said, and adjusted the coat so it wouldn't fall off.

"We're going to have to hurry if we don't want to end up as drowned rats" he said.

Rogue laughed. "I think it's a little late for that."

Remy grabbed her hand. "Come on, we're going onto the street so we can run. Don't need you tripping on the curb and falling on your face."

"Don't you think you should be offering your coat to me?" Belle complained from behind them. For a minute Rogue had forgotten that she was there.

"I don't have to answer to the state of Louisiana if I get you sick" Remy retorted, and they stepped off the curb onto the street. He then held her hand a bit tighter.

"Run!" he said, and they took off through the rain. Rogue hung on to Remy's hand tightly as they ran; her cane was no good to her right now and he was her only connection to wherever they were going. The rain came down harder; her hair was soaked and puddles had already formed on the street; she heard the splash as they ran through them. The cool rain felt good against her face compared to the heat of the day, and Remy's coat felt comfortable around her. Personally she thought he was crazy for wearing a coat in this weather, but right now she was grateful for it. She could hear Belle griping behind her about getting soaked and she just laughed. This was actually kind of fun. Running was something she normally couldn't indulge in, and it felt good to do it now.

"It's not like you're going to melt!" Rogue yelled back at Belle.

"Oh shut up" came the response from behind her.

Rogue just laughed some more. She decided that anything that annoyed Belle was fun. The trip back to the car was taking awhile though and eventually she had to save her breath for running. She wasn't use to this much physical activity.

Eventually they reached the car though and Remy unlocked her door. When Mercy and Belle caught up with them she heard a door behind her open and realized that Remy had put her into the front with him.

"I can't believe this. I'm completely soaked" Belle complained from the back seat.

Mercy laughed. "Hey you're the one who just had to along with us."

"Well you could have shared your umbrella."

"Not my fault you couldn't keep up with me" Mercy said unapologetically.

Rogue grinned. She definitely liked Remy's sister in law.

"Sorry about getting your car all wet" she said to Mercy.

"No problem. I'm used to it around here."

"I hate it when it gets like this" Remy said. "I can barely see a few feet in front of me."

"Well I wish you'd hurry up. I want to go home and change" Belle commented.

"What's the matter?" Remy asked. "You usually like to run around in the rain."

"Well I don't feel like it today" Belle snapped.

"Ouch. Grouchy." Rogue said.

"Oh stay out of it" Belle said. "You're the one wearing a coat."

Rogue's grin just got a little bigger.

Back at the LeBeau house, they all left the car and Belle took off. She didn't ask to come in and dry off and Remy didn't offer. Rogue entered the house with relief; it was good to finally be away from the love of Remy's life. She handed his coat back to him and tried to squeeze some of the water out of her hair. She felt like she'd just been in the shower.

"Come on Rogue" Mercy said. "You can use the spare room to change into some dry clothes. I'll grab a towel for you to dry your hair."

"I'm going upstairs to change" Remy said as they left the entryway.

Mercy escorted her to the spare bedroom and Rogue felt around it before settling at the bed. Mercy left the room while she changed into different clothes, but returned a couple of minutes later with a towel, which Rogue used to dry her hair. It ended up still a little damp, but it was better than nothing.

"Come on" Mercy said. "Tante Mattie's making us some tea. She always worries about us catching colds after being out on days like this."

Rogue smiled a little that. Tante Mattie sounded like Irene in that regard.

"That sounds good." She said, pulling her hair back into a short, stubby ponytail. Rogue let Mercy lead her out of the room, but determined that starting tomorrow she was going to start learning to navigate the LeBeau house on her own. It was going to painful at first, literally, but she had to do it. She was going to be a regular at the house for a while and she just couldn't let herself lose what independence she had by being led around all the time. Content in the knowledge that it wouldn't be forever, she followed along with Mercy out of the room to go to the kitchen.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy sat at the kitchen table and dunked a beignet into his tea. He was now in dry clothes, but his hair was only toweled dry and so looked like a mop on top of his head. He didn't care though;, he was just at home with his family and Rogue, and she couldn't see him so it didn't matter. Getting soaked had been fun though, running through the rain with Rogue and listening to her laugh. She was doing it more lately, and he liked to hear it. The fact that the more she laughed the less likely she was to bash him with her cane was good, but just the fact of her laughing was good, compared to the sarcastic, angry girl he had met earlier this week. Was it only Thursday? He had a hard time believing that he had only known her such short period of time, and he was already getting comfortable enough with her to invite her into his home for what would be a regular basis for awhile.

He took a sip of his tea, not caring that he was drinking up some rather large pastry crumbs along with the tea. All in all, he had had fun today. The only problem had been Belle. He couldn't believe her behavior towards Rogue today. Actually that wasn't true, he _could _believe her behavior; Belle had a definite jealous streak and she had shown it today. They definitely had to talk. There was going to be a problem if she had a fit every time he spent time with Rogue. He couldn't understand it; when he first told her about his community service assignment she had just laughed. Then again, it had been before she met Rogue. Rogue was a pretty girl. Scratch that; after today he had to change that assessment to simply lovely. Seeing her today had definitely changed his mind in that regard. It was amazing what a change in wardrobe could do for a person. He had to admire Mercy's taste; the colors and styles she had chosen suited Rogue very well. He hadn't been quite sure what to say at first, and was embarrassed when his sister in law called him on it. That had gotten him a nasty glance from Belle. Okay, that one he deserved; he couldn't blame her for being upset at seeing the man she planned to marry standing there speechless while looking at another woman. The rest of it was uncalled for though. The nap was completely innocent; it had just been a beautiful day in the park, perfect napping underneath a tree. Julien probably had his own motives for spying on them that day, Belle may not have put him up to it, but Remy wasn't about to tell his fiancée that he thought her brother was a sick fuck.

"So what happened today Remy?" came Tante Mattie's voice, jarring him from his thoughts and causing him to drop the remainder of his beignet into his tea. He didn't answer immediately, just fished the last remaining solid part of the pastry out and crammed it into his mouth.

"What do you mean?" he asked from around a mouthful of pastry.

"Don't chew with your mouth full, Remy" Mattie scolded. "I saw Belle sulking off to her car when you came back, looking like she was in a snit. So tell me what happened, although I think I might know."

Remy swallowed his mouthful of food, and sighed. "She didn't like Rogue, Tante, and vice versa. She's acting jealous, and I don't get why. I haven't done anything to deserve it. I _have _to spend time with Rogue, and she's accusing me of getting cozy with her." It was frustrating. He hadn't screwed around on Belle like he had with previous girlfriends. "Tante, you know I haven't done anything to hurt Belle."

"I know, Remy" she said sympathetically, and joined him at the table with her own cup of tea. "But seeing the one you love spending time with another girl can make a person uneasy. Especially if she's as pretty as Rogue."

Remy just buried his head in his arms on the table. "Argh."

He heard footsteps enter the kitchen but didn't bother lifting his head.

"Rogue, you look just beautiful" Tante Mattie said happily. "Remy, you didn't tell me you took her shopping."

"It was Mercy" he mumbled from within his folded up arms. "I just went along and watched Belle try on clothes."

"You did an excellent job, Mercy" Mattie said approvingly. "She looks wonderful."

"Thanks" he heard Rogue reply shyly. Rogue? Shy? He finally lifted his head and there was that blush he had seen before when his father had so gallantly kissed her hand. Once again it made her even prettier and made him want to cause that reaction in her. Not exactly thoughts that an engaged man should be having, but he thought it was probably due to the whole damsel in distress thing she seemed to have going on. He would never call her a damsel in distress, at least not if he wanted to live, but the idea was the same. It was something different in his life; he was able to actually make a difference to someone, rescue her even if it was in little ways, and it felt good.

"Thanks Tante" Mercy replied. "I just had to do it. Poor Rogue looked like she was sweating to death in those clothes." Looking her over Remy could see that Rogue was wearing another one of those tank tops, with a gauzy top over it this time, a dark green color. It brought out the color in her slightly clouded eyes and he wished that they could work, that there was animation in them instead of being just pretty marbles.

Mattie smiled. "Well I'm glad you did. Now come sit down and have some tea. You both need some warming up after that soaking you had."

"Yes Tante" Mercy and Rogue said at the same time and laughed. They both sat down at the table and Mercy offered Rogue a beignet from the plate on the table.

"Remy, tomorrow I'm going to start learning to get around in here on my own" Rogue said after a couple of bites of her snack.

"Probably a good idea' Remy agreed. "I'm supposed to be your companion, not your seeing eye dog."

Rogue grinned. "Oh I don't know. If you were, would you have to wear a collar?"

"Why Miss Darkholme, I didn't realize you were so kinky" Remy said in what he thought was his best sexy voice. To his immense pleasure, Rogue blushed. _Yes!_ He thought gleefully to himself.

Mercy smacked him on the arm. "Remy, behave yourself."

"Ow! You're no fun" he complained, rubbing his arm.

"You're such a baby" his sister in law replied, rolling her eyes. Rogue just sat quietly and stuffed a large piece of beignet into her mouth.

Tante Mattie came to Rogue's rescue by setting down a cup of tea in front of her and asking how the afternoon had gone. Remy kind of tuned out their conversation as he finished his now somewhat lumpy tea. It wasn't his fault, he decided. If she hadn't made that comment about collars………………then again, it wasn't really her fault that he was a perv. It had been fun though, he smiled.

"So are you looking forward to school again tomorrow?" Mattie asked.

"Yes" Rogue replied, a little smile on her face. "Do you know anything about my teacher?"

Tante Mattie shook her head, regardless of the fact that Rogue couldn't see it. "I don't know her personally, but I've been told that Martine is a lovely woman and very respected in her field. I don't doubt that she'll be an excellent teacher for you."

Rogue shook her head a little. "I still can't believe that you're doing this for me."

Mercy grinned. "Oh come on; what's the point of stealing from the rich if we can't give it to the poor? So to speak. It's not every day we get to play Robin Hood."

"I swear I'll pay you back somehow" Rogue said earnestly.

Tante Mattie patted Rogue's gloved hand. "Get out of that home you're in and do something good with yourself; that's what you can do."

Rogue smiled. "Okay."

With that smile on her face; Remy decided that despite the Robin Hood talk, right now he felt more like Lancelot than anything else. _I'm much classier though_, he thought to himself smugly.

_Lancelot never had a trench coat and a motorcycle._

O-o-o-o-O


	17. Hitting the Books

AN

AN

AN: Nope, still don't own them. Thanks Marvel, do you really have to make us remind ourselves of that?

Oh, I do own Rogue's tutor though. I also don't know much about educational tools for the blind, so I'm not going to go into too much detail and I apologize in advance if I get something wrong.

O-o-o-o-O

Martine Talbot looked to be in her early fifties, but carried it well, and while she would probably never be considered a beautiful woman, her bright, intelligent eyes, fair complexion and mature but friendly personality caused her to be considered by others a woman who was aging gracefully. When Remy opened the door for her on Friday morning she took his hand and clasped it firmly.

"_Bonjour, Madame _Talbot" Remy said politely as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Please, call me Martine" she replied. "And you must be Remy. Alexandre told me all about you."

"I didn't do it!" was Remy's automatic, panicked reply. His and Henri's pranks against their teacher while growing up were almost legendary.

Martine grinned. "Yes you did, Remy. Alexandre still has the scorch-marked jacket to prove it."

"Really?" he asked in surprise. "That had to have been at least ten years ago!"

"It's his favorite jacket" she said with a shrug. "Now are we going to stand here in the foyer while you unwittingly confess to your past misdeeds, or are you going to let me meet my new student?"

"Oh, um, yes ma'am" Remy said quickly, and closed the door behind her. "Rogue's in the library." _And happier than anyone I've ever seen at facing the prospect of homework_. _It would almost be disgusting if I didn't know her situation._ She had almost been cheerful this morning on the ride over from the home, and only hit him once with the cane, when he had made a smart-ass comment regarding dog collars.

"Good. I was told that you already have a computer in there. And I understand that your father purchased a Braille printer? I've brought the translation software for it and other software for Rogue to use in her studies." Martine said as they walked to the library.

Remy had left Rogue in the library with Mercy, and when he came back with Martine they were both curled up in the comfy armchairs by the unlit fireplace. Martine took charge immediately and walked over to the girls.

"Hello Rogue, I'm Martine Talbot. It's very nice to meet you. Please call me Martine" she said, and Rogue automatically extended her hand in Martine's direction. The older woman shook it, then sat down in one of the empty chairs, setting down a briefcase that Remy hadn't noticed her carrying before.

"Hi" Rogue replied, and shifted in her chair. Remy noticed that she seemed comfortable in Martine's presence, and had only flinched a tiny bit when they shook hands.

Mercy got up. "You can have my chair, Remy. I promised Henri I'd finish some paperwork for him."

"Okay. Martine, this is my sister in law, Mercy. For some reason she decided to marry my brother" Remy said as he sat down in the now vacant chair."

Martine nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mercy."

"You too. I'll see you guys at lunch" Mercy said, and left the library.

Martine turned her attention back to her student. "Okay Rogue, I'd like to start with a few questions about your background, then we're going to do a skill assessment to see where you are grade level wise and to determine what we need to focus on. Please let me know if I ask anything you feel uncomfortable answering. Okay?"

"Okay" Rogue said, and straightened up in her chair.

"Good. Now, are you from this area?"

"No. I grew up in Caldecott County, Mississippi." Remy noticed that she didn't really look uncomfortable at all, and he supposed that she wouldn't for something so simple and mundane as beginning school.

Martine took a notebook out of her briefcase, opened a page and began writing.

"Alright; I'll have to write to the Mississippi board of education for your school records. Parents' names?"

A shadow did cross Rogue's face at this, and Remy remembered that this was a touchy subject for her.

"My foster mother's name was Irene Adler. She's dead" Rogue said stiffly.

"I'm sorry" Martine said quietly, sympathy apparent in her eyes and tone. "I thought your last name was Darkholme. Your foster mother never adopted you?"

"She didn't feel she needed to" Rogue said. "She was my mother, whether she had it down on paper or not. Besides, she wanted me to keep my real mother's name."

Martine nodded a little. "I see. And your father?"

"I don't know who he is" Rogue said hesitantly. Remy was surprised. Yes, Candace had gone over Rogue's file with him when he first came to the home, but he hadn't really given the background info much thought. He knew that Rogue's birth mother was dead, but what had happened to her father? And why hadn't this Irene person ever told her who he was? Even if the man was dead, it was no reason to keep his identity a secret. Something weird was going on there, but since the only people who most likely would have known were dead, it wasn't something that was going to be found out any time soon. Remy tucked it into one of the corners of his mind.

Martine continued her questions. "Did you attend public schools or study privately?"

"I went to a public school until the car accident when I was ten; then Irene hired tutors for me." Rogue said.

"I'm assuming that you know Braille then; have you worked with computers much?" Martine asked.

"Yes, Irene made sure my tutors kept me up to date on current learning methods." Rogue said.

"Good. I've brought voice-recognition software to install on the computer here, and a Braille printer so you can print out assignments to take back with you. I'll just take a few minutes to set up a software program, then we can get started on the skill assessment." Martine turned to Remy. "Remy, could you help me set this up please?"

"Certainly." Remy got up and helped Martine install the software on the computer.

"Come join me at the computer, Rogue" she said when they were finished. Remy noticed that she didn't bother watching to make sure Rogue made it over okay.

"Umm….she doesn't really know the room yet" he said hesitantly.

Martine didn't sound concerned. "She has to learn it sometime, and she knows how to follow voices. Besides, she probably knows it better than you think."

She was right. Other than nearly hitting a chair, Rogue joined them on the other side of the room without incident.

"See?" Rogue said smugly. "Don't you trust me, Swamp Rat?" Martine chuckled at the nick name.

"Only as much as you trust me, _chere_" Remy responded.

"Have a seat, Rogue, and take off your gloves" Martine said, ignoring their banter. "I've been told about your mutation, so you needn't fear me trying to touch you. I probably should have asked before, but do you need a Braille keyboard or can you use a standard one?"

Rogue took off her gloves and let Martine take them to place on the desk that the computer sat on. She skimmed her fingers over the keyboard until she found the F and J home keys. She seemed to use that as a base to skim her fingers over the rest of the board, finding the number pad and other keys.

"I think I'll be okay" she said at last.

"Good" Martine said. "The mouse is over to your right" Rogue nodded and felt around until she found it.

Martine looked at Remy. "We're going to do the skill assessment now. It's going to take awhile, so I'll let you know when we're finished" she said, gently dismissing him.

Remy didn't feel offended at being dismissed. He really wasn't of any use here, and he could use the time to call Belle. They needed to have a little talk after her attitude yesterday.

"Yes ma'am" he said politely. Like Tante Mattie, Martine commanded respect. Not quite in the same way though. While Tante Mattie commanded it with her strength of personality and a bit of intimidation, Martine Talbot drew it with an air of confidence and dignity. She seemed to be more than up to the task of handling Rogue, but then Rogue didn't seem inclined to cause her any trouble. Possibly because Martine was treating her like a normal person, and was in a position to truly understand her and be able to help her. Martine had also not seemed to be concerned about Rogue's mutation; she had just accepted it as a fact and moved on. All in all she seemed to be the perfect choice for Rogue, and Remy felt comfortable leaving her in the woman's hands. He thought he probably shouldn't have been concerned, but ultimately he was responsible for Rogue during their time together, and he hadn't been sure if the teacher selected would get on well with her.

As he left the library he could hear Martine instructing Rogue on how the testing would work, and he closed the door on them to head upstairs. He wanted to talk to Belle privately, and didn't need his family within earshot. If she was going to act like this every time she was around Rogue, then he would have to keep his social life strictly separate from his community service work. It may cut down on his time with his fiancée, which she would really resent since she's now decided to make serious plans about the wedding, but he could still see her on the weekends and in the evenings.

Once in his room he closed the door and collapsed onto his bed. He dialed her number on his cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. Remy sighed; usually the only times Belle had her phone off were when she was asleep or when she was working; and since she usually wasn't asleep at this time of day that left the latter option. It was assumed that assassinations were usually done at night, but there were things that could be done during the day and the Guild was creative. Belle had been trained by her father and brother, so there was quite a bit that she could accomplish in daylight. Remy left her a brief message to call him, and hung up the phone.

That was probably the only thing Remy couldn't accept about this whole marriage business. He loved Belle, he really did, but he didn't know if he could ever truly accept what she did for a living. He had never killed another human being, and hoped that he had to. The Boudreaux's and their Guild family had been doing it for centuries without batting an eye. She shrugged it off so easily, like it was squashing bugs. That was probably how she and her family saw it though; like squashing bugs, and to be able to make that switch so easily, to go from seeing a person as a person to seeing them as a target, a bug to be squashed; was frankly a little unnerving. Remy knew he'd never be able to break her of that though; her Guild was a part of her and she was devoted to her family, especially her slime bucket of a brother. That was something he'd rather not think about though.

"YO! REMY!" came a shout from downstairs. Remy got up with a groan, wondering what Emil wanted now. He poked his head out the door.

"WHAT?!" he called out.

"I'VE GOT THE NEW GRAND THEFT AUTO GAME! COME DOWN AND PLAY!" Came his cousin's answering shout.

Remy rolled his eyes. As a professional thief, one would think that Emil wouldn't be interested in a game about something as easy as stealing cars. Then again, this was Emil. He shrugged. He might as well humor his cousin and play; it wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway. Closing his door, Remy headed down the stairs.

"Aren't you supposed to be working or something?" he asked.

Emil shook his head. "Nah. I've got a demolitions class this afternoon, but right now I'm free."

Remy shuddered. "Papa's letting you play with explosives? God help us all."

Emil grinned. "That's pretty much what Mercy said too. It'll be okay though; I promised I wouldn't build any in the house."

"He should have made you promise not to build any in this _neighborhood_" Remy muttered.

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad." Emil protested.

Remy made a face. "This from the guy who set off fireworks in the living room. What possessed Papa to let you do this anyway?"

"He said he wants me to have a well-rounded education" Emil said with a shrug.

Remy just rolled his eyes and headed into the living room. "If we're going to play, come on. I'm quitting when Rogue's finished with her teacher."

Emil followed along. "I think she's crazy. Actually _wanting_ to go to school."

"She doesn't have much else to do, and she doesn't have a family business to go into, like you do." Remy said.

Emil shook his head. "I still think she's crazy."

"Just shut up and play. I want to beat you before lunch."

O-o-o-o-O

Lunch was delayed until Rogue and Martine were finished in the library, and by that time Jean-Luc had come home as he wanted to discuss Rogue's results with the teacher. Tante Mattie had gone shopping, so lunch was everyone for themselves. Mercy was heating up leftovers for herself, while Jean-Luc, Remy and Emil were making sandwiches. Remy remembered from the other day that Rogue liked ham, so he made her a ham sandwich on white bread, and roast beef for himself.

Emil was still fuming about the game. "I still say you cheated" he said before taking a big bite of his lunch.

Remy shrugged. "We're criminals. We're _supposed_ to cheat, therefore it isn't cheating, now is it?"

Whatever Emil's response was, it was garbled by the food in his mouth.

"I probably didn't want to hear what you just said" Jean-Luc commented.

Mercy chuckled. "Probably not."

The tap of a cane in the hall announced Rogue and Martine's arrival.

"Hello ladies" Jean-Luc greeted them as they entered the kitchen. "Come on in. Martine, would you like some lunch?"

Martine shook her head. "Thank you, but no. I'm meeting my husband for lunch after I finish here." Remy remembered his _pere_ saying that Martine's husband was a professor of something or other at Tulane.

"Rogue, I made you a sandwich" Remy said, bringing the plate over to the table. "It's ham. Do you want something to drink?"

"Um, sure, thanks" she said, taking a seat at the table. "Iced tea please" apparently she was still getting used to him being nice to her. Well if she could behave, so could he.

"Let's not keep you then" his _pere_ said to Martine. "Please, have a seat. How did things go?"

Martine sat down next to Rogue at the table. "Pardon me talking as if you aren't here for a minute" she said in way of apology to Rogue, then turned her attention to Jean-Luc.

"She's a very intelligent girl, and her late foster mother appears to have kept her well educated. Despite not having been in school for over a year, she's retained a lot of information and grasps concepts well. Her geography is a little weak, and she needs a basic refresher in Algebra, but that can be worked on; her English and History are excellent though. I'd also like to start teaching her French. I'm going to draw up a lesson plan over the weekend and we'll start on Monday. I'll also order the books we'll need later on today and have them sent overnight here."

Jean-Luc smiled. "Excellent. I appreciate your coming here to help Rogue. I believe Alexandre has given you the information on the account set up to cover expenses; you should have no problem accessing it."

Martine nodded. "Yes, thank you. It's very generous." Then she got up. "If you will excuse me though, Alan is expecting me. Rogue," she said, touching the girl's shoulder lightly, "it was very good to meet you, and I look forward to working with you on Monday."

Rogue smiled. "It was good to meet you too. See you Monday."

Martine then shook hands with Jean-Luc and left. Rogue took off her gloves and began eating her sandwich, while Remy sat down at the table with his.

"So Rogue" Jean-Luc said from the end of the table, "What do you think of your teacher?"

Rogue swallowed the mouthful of sandwich she had. "I like her. She's professional but friendly, and doesn't seem to care that I'm a mutant." She said after a moment.

"Good. She came highly recommended" Jean-Luc said.

Rogue grinned. "She told me some interesting things about you, Remy" she said. "Did you ever get anything to grow in your Sea Monkey farm?"

Remy groaned. He couldn't believe that Professor Talone had told Rogue's teacher about that. "Hey, at least I didn't keep a pet rock, like Henri did. Mine were alive. Kind of." He protested.

"Hmm….Sea Monkeys, eh? Your brother never told me about that one" Mercy said.

Remy shrugged. "Blackmail. Ask him about the hermit crabs one of these days."

Rogue stuck her tongue out. "Hermit crabs? I don't think I want to know."

"Hey, I do!" Emil exclaimed.

"Of course you would. Let's just say he found out that you can't substitute hermit crabs for snails when making escargot, the hard way." Remy said.

"Ewwww….." Rogue said. "That sounds gross."

"I wouldn't know, you'd have to ask my brother." Remy said. "So what do you want to do this afternoon?"

"How about we play Grand Theft Auto?" Emil said.

"Aren't you playing with explosives this afternoon?" Remy asked. "Besides, she can't play that."

"That's okay Remy" Rogue said. "I don't think I'd want to play that anyway. Besides, Martine showed me some games on the new software, including Solitaire. I haven't played that for years. It's amazing how addicting a card game can be."

"True, I love cards" Remy said with a smirk. Poker was a particular favorite of his. Most of the other thieves in the Guild, the ones who valued their money anyway, had given up on playing with him, and he had to go to the bars and gambling halls to get any action.

"Yeah, I remember" Rogue laughed a little. "Remind me not to play with you."

It was still weird knowing that she had seen his thoughts, part of his mind, and still retained some of that knowledge. She had said that most of it was gone, but there was still that odd bit of information that popped out every once in awhile and it threw him off guard.

"Yeah, he's a damn shark" Emil threw in, making a face at Remy.

The ringing of the phone from the hall drew their attention away from the conversation.

"I'll get it" Mercy said, and went out into the hall. A minute later she came back.

"Jean-Luc, it's for you. It's Ororo" she said. Jean-Luc nodded with a smile.

"Okay, I'll take it in my office." He said, and left the room.

"Ororo's an old friend our father's" Remy said to Rogue in way of an explanation. "She's a teacher at a private school in New York." He had only met the woman a few times, but really liked her, even if she could be a little intimidating sometimes.

"She hasn't called in awhile. I wonder what she wants?" Mercy said.

Remy just shrugged and continued eating his sandwich. Obviously they wouldn't find out until his father came back, and then only if he wanted them to know.

Jean-Luc came back into the room a few minutes later, the smile still on his face.

"You'll be happy to know that Ororo's coming down tomorrow to visit for the weekend" he said.

"Really? That's cool" Emil said happily. Remy was still curious though.

"So why the visit?"

Jean-Luc sat down. "Well, apparently she's helping out an investigation on the anti-mutant movements going on lately, and there's a group down here that's getting a lot more active." He said. "She was wondering if you wanted to help her out a bit Remy, you know; birds of a feather and all that."

"Is she a mutant too?" Rogue asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's kind of cool, too. She can control the weather" Remy said.

"Wow, that is cool" Rogue said. "Imagine being able to make it snow or something like that whenever you want. I've never been where there's snow before. It would definitely be nice right now."

"So how long is she staying?" Mercy asked.

"At least over the weekend, possibly a day or two over, depending how things go" Jean-Luc said. "So what about it Remy, will you work with her on this?"

"Definitely" Remy said. The anti-mutant groups in the area really were getting more active; it seemed like every day there was a report in the area of mutants being attacked or harassed. The worst of them was that Friends of Humanity group, and the fact that Candace was beginning to fall in with them worried the hell out of him. Having a mutant in her care could only spell trouble down the road if she joined up with them, and the fact that it was Rogue only made it worse. He'd tell his father about Candace later, and he'd definitely tell Ororo once she got here. He wasn't going to mention it around Rogue though; he didn't want her to worry.

"If you're done eating, Rogue" he said at last, "Do you want to teach me to play some of those games?"

"Sure" she shrugged. "You have to close your eyes though while playing. It's only fair."

"Heh, this should be good" Emil grinned. "Hey Mercy, I bet you ten bucks that Rogue kicks his butt."

"Sorry, I can't" Mercy laughed. "I agree with you, and I don't want to lose ten bucks."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Remy said, making a face.

"Hey, we're just being honest" Mercy grinned.

Rogue just sat and smirked.

"I'm so loved" Remy sighed, getting up. "Come on, let's go play."

Rogue grinned and got up to joined him.

"I think we'll start with Battleship. I hope you know how to swim, 'cause you're about to sink."

O-o-o-o-O

The afternoon passed at first with Remy getting his clock cleaned by Rogue on the games, but despite the temptation to open his eyes he kept them closed and eventually got the hang of playing by listening to voice commands, and even managed to beat her a couple of times. All too soon though it was time to go, and Remy reluctantly shut off the computer.

"So what are you going to do this weekend?" he asked as he got up.

Rogue put on her gloves, got up and grabbed a folder that was lying on the desk. "I'll bug Candace to give me some more books, and Martine printed off some material for me to read over the weekend."

"Good. At least you won't be bored" he said, and was glad that Ororo was coming, otherwise _he _would be bored. He was still on sabbatical from working, and while he wanted to see Belle, there was inevitably going to be an argument and he hated arguing with her, especially over this silly business about Rogue. Hopefully she'd see reason, especially since it looked like their wedding would be coming soon. He hadn't really been paying attention to the plans that she was making, since she'd probably do she wants with or without his input, and because he's been busy with Rogue. She was going to be pissed when he told her that their honeymoon would have to be a weekend trip, since his parole agreement didn't allow for things like honeymoons.

"Yeah" she said quietly. "Come on, let's go."

The trip back to the home was uneventful, and after Remy parted with her in the hallway he headed to Candace's office to check in for the day. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his temper with her, and he knew he was going to get himself in trouble one of these days, but for now he just wanted to get out of here.

Arriving at her office though he found it empty, so he went down the hall to where Alison, Candace's secretary, kept her office. He gave a brief knock on the open door and stuck his head in.

"Hi Alison, where's Candace? Her office is empty."

Alison looked up from her typing and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Oh, hi Remy. She's at a meeting. Some sort of mutant group; Friends of Humanity, I think it's called? I never pay attention to that stuff" she said with a shrug. Alison was a nice enough person, but she was rather oblivious to things and never really paid attention to things outside her own small sphere of life.

Remy tensed. So she was attending their meetings now? This made him feel worse than ever, and he didn't like that he had to leave Rogue here for the weekend. What could he do though? He only had access to her during the week. He should relax. It was only two days, and he'd see her on Monday. Everything would be fine.

"Okay. Could you tell her I checked in for the day? Rogue's gone to her room."

"Sure. Have a good weekend Remy" Alison nodded, and went back to her typing.

Remy left her office and headed out of the building. The door slammed hard behind him as he left; his thoughts on the weekend. He wanted Ororo to get here already, for them to find out what was up with this Friends of Humanity group, find out what Candace was getting into, and stop whatever trouble may be coming. Because it was definitely coming. The anti-mutant voices were getting louder, and those in power were starting to listen.

He couldn't wait for Monday.


	18. Saturday part 1

AN:

AN:

AN: As always, I own nothing here other than my various OC's. I apologize to those who wanted a Kurt/Kitty romance, but I need an older Kurt here and I didn't feel confident writing Kitty as an adult. Besides, I like the idea of Ororo and Kurt. Please excuse the sound of even more canon shuffling but since Greydon Creed doesn't exist in this story I have to improvise.

O-o-o-o-O

On Saturday morning Remy stood outside a private airport just past the city limits, watching a most unusual plane land. Jean-Luc had warned him that the plane Ororo was arriving on would be out of the ordinary, but that didn't quite cover it. Its sleek design and intense black color would make it stand out in almost any company. He almost wanted to call it military, but he couldn't imagine Ororo having access to anything like that. _Who the hell does she work for, that she can catch a ride in that thing?_ Remy wondered to himself.

She stepped down the ramp of the plane, her pure white hair blowing in the light breeze of the morning. That set against her dark skin made her exotically beautiful and if Remy hadn't already been engaged to Belle, he might have tried going for her, even if she was a little intimidating; but he was engaged, and if he remembered correctly Ororo already has a boyfriend.

Behind her stepped a tall young man with strange reddish glasses. Remy wondered if maybe that was the boyfriend, but at second glance decided that the man looked too much like a prep to catch Ororo Munroe's interest. She gave the man a hug then finished walking down the ramp. The man went back into the plane, and Ororo backed away from it while the ramp went up and the plane took off. The speed at which the plane went made Remy's mouth drop open.

"Close your mouth, Remy" Ororo smiled as she approached him. Remy complied and looked at her.

"That….wow. Whose is that and how do I get a ride on it?" he asked in amazement.

She smiled a little more. "Maybe some day you will get to ride on it" she said, and Remy didn't notice that she hadn't answered his question regarding who owned it. "Now don't I get a hug?"

"Oh, of course" he said, and gave her a big hug. "Papa can't wait to see you. Neither can Emil. Henri's been busy lately but I know he'll be glad to see you too. How was the trip? Pretty fast, I bet, if that thing usually goes as fast as it just did."

"It was just fine, Remy" Ororo said, shifting her overnight bag to her other hand. "But enough about me. What's this I hear about you getting arrested?"

Remy groaned. Despite the impossibility of it, he had hoped that his father wouldn't say anything about what had happened at the museum. Silly thought, he knew, but one could always hope.

"Damn Assassins. Henri, Emil and I were on a job at the museum and I got set up. There were extra guards and they were loaded with power suppressor bullets. Sat in the damn utility closet watching the guard pick his nose for almost forever, then ended getting chased down, shot and arrested, just for a fucking second-hand Matisse. Papa says the Assassins were behind it, but he can't prove it" Remy said in disgust as they walked off the airfield. He had Mercy's car again today. He much preferred to ride his bike so had never bothered getting a car of his own.

"Well, it could have been worse" Ororo said. "You could have ended up with jail time. Community service isn't so bad."

Remy had to agree with her on that. At least he was only ending up with bruises instead of being beaten up in prison. Rogue's cane was almost welcome in comparison.

"True, but it sure ain't painless. You should see the bruises that girl's given me" he said, shaking his head.

Ororo frowned. "Jean-Luc didn't say much about your assignment, except that you're being a companion to a blind girl, and that she's keeping you on your toes. Why do you have bruises?"

"She's got a temper, and likes to take it out on people with her cane, especially me" he said, rolling his eyes. "I think I'm making progress though; it's been a week and she's only hitting me maybe once or twice a day now."

"You call that progress?" Ororo said skeptically, biting back a smile.

"Well at least it's a step in the right direction. Like I said, she's got a temper" Remy said. "I think a lot of its self-defense though. I know I'd be crabby if I was around the idiots she lives with all the time."

"Jean-Luc said she lives in a state home?" Ororo prompted.

"Yeah, the people there are something else. Rogue says the woman in charge started out just being paranoid, but now apparently she's found religion in the form of anti-mutantism. It makes me nervous about her being there" Remy said as they approached the car. He took Ororo's overnight bag and put it in the back seat.

"Your father didn't mention anything about her being a mutant" Ororo said, getting into the car. "And is that her real name? Rogue?"

Remy shrugged. "Yep. Don't ask me why. Rogue said it had something to do with her foster mother. And yeah, she's a mutant. She absorbs the life out of people when she touches them. Found out the hard way she takes mutant powers too" he said embarrassedly. "She has to stay covered all the time. Can't see, can't touch. Frankly I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

"Nor I" Ororo said quietly as Remy drove back to the house. "You said you found out the hard way about her taking mutant powers. Did you touch her accidentally?"

"No, I was dumb and touched her on purpose. I wanted to show her that she was wrong about her not hurting people when she touched them, but I was the one that was wrong. I felt like I was bleeding to death through my mind. She's the one who gets hurt the most though. She had my thoughts, my feelings, and a brand new power she couldn't control. That night she woke up screaming from my nightmares, and she says she still has some of my memories" Remy said, still feeling horrible about the experience.

"It sounds like I don't have to tell you what a bad idea that was" Ororo commented.

"No. I wish I could take it back. I'm just glad that she only had my power temporarily and I was able to help her get some control over it before it faded" Remy said.

"Perhaps it was good then, that you were the first mutant she touched. Another mutant may not have been as understanding or may not have helped her with it like you did. It wasn't all bad after all. I wouldn't recommend doing it again though" she said.

Remy laughed. "Nooo, we've already had that discussion. I'm not stupid. Not completely anyway" he added quickly as Ororo started to smile.

"No, you're not stupid Remy" she said. "You just don't always seem to think things through before acting. It sounds like you're getting along a bit better with her though, so I take it she's forgiven you for this?"

"I think so. We've called a truce, and she says I'm on a trial period. And she seems happier now that she's able to get out of the home during the day. She actually laughs." Remy said.

Ororo shook her head. "I don't like that at all, that she hasn't been allowed to go to school. You need to go to the state board of education about that."

"As much as I don't like it, I don't want to rock the boat too much. If the state steps in I'm afraid they'll send her someplace worse. At least this way I know where she is and we can have her at home during the week. Besides, it's not forever; she'll be eighteen this year and then she can leave." Remy didn't want to mention how much fun he'd had with her over the past couple of days and how much he liked having her at his house and seeing her enjoy herself with his family. It felt selfish, but as much as he'd like to see Candace buried up to her neck in an anthill, if he set the board of education after her, she probably would send Rogue someplace else, somewhere worse. And bureaucrats didn't always have people's best interests at heart. She could get lost in the system and Remy might not be able to find her. He couldn't risk that. It felt safer his way. Keep her out of the bitch's reach as much as possible during the week until she turned eighteen; then get her the hell out of there. In the meantime he can help Ororo with digging up the anti-mutant groups, and hopefully keep an eye on Candace in the progress.

Ororo was silent for a moment. "You might be right" she said finally. "It sounds like she might be safer with you and your family able to look out for her. Would it be possible for me to meet her before I leave? I'd like to talk to her; she sounds like an interesting young woman."

"I don't know" Remy said as he drove. "I only see her during the week; besides I pissed off Candace when I blackmailed her about the whole tutoring business so I don't know what she would say about weekend visits. Besides, aren't you going to be busy running after anti-mutant groups?"

"Well, not too much running. We've compiled a list of what we hope are most of the major ones in the area, and I'm here to track down their locations. The one I'm really interested in though is the Friends of Humanity. Their leader, Alan Lewis, is based in Washington, D.C., but it's reported that he's visiting New Orleans this weekend. I want to see who's showing up at these meetings, who's supporting them in this area. The group is getting away with too much around here for there not to be any government support, or at least sympathy."

Remy made a face. "I don't know about this weekend, but I can tell you that Candace was at one of those meetings last night. She's been reading their brochures, too."

"I don't like the sound of that, Remy" Ororo said, looking concerned. "Now I really want to talk to Rogue. I don't know if Jean-Luc told you, but the school that I teach at is a school for mutants. They're able to learn without worrying about harassment from non-mutants. I think it would be the perfect place for your friend. She'd be taken care of and educated in a safe environment until she's old enough to make her own decisions legally. The only problem is that she's a minor and a ward of the state. I'm assuming that both of her parents are dead?"

"I don't know. Both her birth mother and foster mother are dead, but nobody knows who her father is, and as far as she knows she has no other family."

"I see. Guardianship is definitely the issue here. As much as I'd like to just invite her to the school then if she agrees just take her and leave, the last thing we need is to be charged with kidnapping by the state. And if Louisiana is becoming more sympathetic to anti-mutant groups, then they'll probably want to keep her right where they can keep an eye on her" Ororo said.

"Instead of having her out and about as a threat to society" Remy said in disgust.

"Exactly." Ororo replied.

Remy parked on the street in front of his house and turned off the car. He felt conflicted. Would Rogue want to leave New Orleans and go to New York with Ororo? He couldn't blame her if she did; she was stuck in a bad situation and here was a possible ticket out to have a better life. The thing was, did he want her to go? He knew it was selfish, but after a week, he liked her; their time was much more fun now that they were getting along better. It would improve his relationship with Belle if she was gone, but he found himself not caring about that. Belle had called him back last night and it hadn't been pleasant; he had told her that her jealousy was unreasonable and it had kind of gone downhill from there. Couldn't she understand that he was faithful to her? He had made a promise and he was sticking to it. She was mad about his staring at Rogue at the clothing store, but Rogue was a beautiful girl; he'd be crazy not to stare. And they were becoming friends; who said he couldn't enjoy his community service? He'd prefer it to be enjoyable; it would be thumbing his nose at the system that was trying to punish him.

So no, he didn't think he'd be too happy if Rogue went to New York. It would be the best thing for her though, so he would back up Ororo in this if the two got the chance to talk. It was the only thing he could do if he really was Rogue's friend. Besides, he's never been to New York before; it would be a good excuse to visit.

"Come on" he said finally as he got out of the car. "Let's get you settled in, then we can start checking out those addresses you have."

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue laid back on her bed and wondered what had ever possessed her to agree to take French. It was a screwy language; plenty of consonants, but they were dropped all over the place so it all sounded like mush. Spanish would make more sense these days, but she was living in New Orleans so it was the language to learn. Besides, she still had some in her head from Remy and if it was going to be there she'd rather understand it on her own instead of through him. The unintentional head start she had on it was kind of nice though as it helped her grasp the grammar concepts easier than she suspected she would have on her own. Her fingers slid over the page as she read the material Martine had given her yesterday and read it out loud; first the alphabet then beginning words and phrases. It was a beautiful language, even if it was kind of mushy-sounding. A guy could read his grocery list in French and still sound sexy. It certainly was beautiful when Remy spoke it; of course he had the voice for it. She couldn't see Remy though, so she didn't know if he was sexy or not. Rogue assumed he was though, if his fiancée was as jealous about him as she seemed to be. He did have a beautiful voice though. Could a man be sexy merely from his voice? She didn't see why not; Irene had listened to the old radio dramas of the 1930's and 40's and the men in those had been considered very sexy even though the women of those days had never seen them.

Why on earth was she wondering if Remy was sexy? He was her unwilling, court-appointed companion, and an engaged man. True, they were getting along better, but there was no point in thinking things like that about him; it wasn't like she'd ever find out anyway.

She tipped her head back against the pillow and sighed. This was getting her nowhere. She still had another page of French to go through, plus three sections on current affairs. Martine wanted to keep her up on politics and current events so Rogue had to catch up on what was going on in the world. They were going to go over news events online every day and discuss them as part of her classes. In the meantime though, there was a lot for her to read. But she definitely wasn't complaining; it was something to do and kill time until Monday. And if she managed to finish her homework before then, Candace had given her another book out of her collection; Stephen King's _The Talisman_ this time. The long book certainly wouldn't be finished quickly. She had been surprised at how little Candace had grumbled about giving her one this time; the woman had just said that at least it was keeping Rogue quiet and out of trouble.

_You'd think she would have thought of that before_, Rogue thought to herself, shaking her head. She wondered sometimes, okay _most_ of the time, how that woman had ever managed to be put in a position of having authority over others. She was beginning to think that things may be okay though; she had Remy, Martine and the LeBeau family to spend time with during the week now; she'd have homework on the weekends, and hopefully Candace would be happy with her being out of the home so much since she was always so paranoid about Rogue being around the other residents. All she had to do now was count down the time until her birthday, and she'd be out of there.

The sound of the alarm clock going off told her it was lunch time, and she was surprised it was that late in the day already. Setting down her paperwork, she put her gloves on and grabbed her cane to go eat. Sarah was off on Fridays, so Rogue hadn't had a chance to tell her about her day yesterday. She was looking forward to doing so now, she thought to herself as she left the room.

O-o-o-o-O

Ororo sat at the table going over paperwork while Remy nibbled on pub fries stolen from her plate. They were having lunch at a café downtown; the same café where he had taken Rogue on Thursday. Both had finished their sandwiches, and now they were just relaxing after having spent the morning tracking down the locations listed in Ororo's notes.

"Eat your own fries, Remy" she said, not looking up from her paperwork.

"But mine are all gone" he said, grabbing another.

"Not my problem."

Remy pouted and sat back in his chair. "But yours taste better."

"Still not my problem" Ororo said, and dragged her plate out of his reach.

"You're not very nice, _chere_."

"Nope."

Remy made a face. "So how many more places do we need to go to?" he asked. So far they had visited the headquarters of four of the groups Ororo had listed as anti-mutant organizations; taking pictures of the buildings and the people who came and went. Two of them actually had real offices, and Remy had gone inside, making sure to wear his sunglasses. He had picked up brochures and spoken to the people there, expressing interest in their views. The people had been very pleasant but spoke concernedly about the mutant threat and the danger to humans everywhere if measures weren't taken to exert control over the mutant population. Remy found it disgusting; these people were idiots, talking about mutants as if they were some sort of new thing, instead of people who had lived among them for years, for the most part never causing any kind of trouble. And now people thought that all of a sudden the mutants were going to up and try to take over everything.

_Morons, _he thought to himself as he reached over and grabbed one last fry.

"Remy" Ororo said warningly, finally looking up at him.

Remy just stuck his tongue out at her.

"I can see why you have a reputation in your family for being immature" she said with a sigh. "We only have one more group to visit; the Friends of Humanity. I want to go meet Rogue first though. And if that Candace woman is attending their meetings, maybe we can find out when and where their next one will be."

"Okay" Remy said, as he eyed the fries left on her plate, contemplating stealing just one more. It really was a shame, her leaving them to sit there and get cold. Fries were supposed to be hot and just never tasted the same after reheating them. It was never wise to piss off a woman who could control the weather, and as he valued his life he made the wise decision to keep his hands to himself. In the meantime he had no problem with Ororo's wish to see Rogue. He knew it was paranoid of him to worry about her being at the home without him over the weekend, Candace may be turning anti-mutant but she couldn't be crazy enough to try to really hurt Rogue, but he wanted to see her and be sure anyway. It was just supposed to be during the week, but he still felt like she was his responsibility; besides, he was her friend now, wasn't he?

"Good" Ororo said, looking back down at her paperwork. She took a couple of fries off the plate and shoved it back towards Remy. "Here, you might as well eat the rest; you've finished most of them off anyway."

Remy just grinned and grabbed the plate.

--

The ride to the home was relaxed; Remy updated Ororo on what was going on with the family; Emil's antics, Etienne's upcoming Tilling at the end of the month and the plans for his own upcoming wedding.

"You will be there, won't you _chere_?" he asked her.

Ororo smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to meet the woman who's going to make an honest man out of you."

"No, no, I'll never be completely honest."

"I suppose not. You'll always be a Thief" Ororo said. "You don't have to be though; I know it's the family business and you're loyal to the Guild, but have you ever considered trying anything else?"

Remy just laughed. "What else would I do? This is what I was raised for. It's not like I have a resume I can go out and look for a job with."

"You'd be surprised" Ororo said. "I was a thief too, Remy; you know that. But I got out of it and I love teaching now. You could get out too."

"Why would I want to?" he asked. "I like it, I'm good at what I do, and besides, I work with my family. They're the best co-workers I could have."

Ororo shrugged. "Well, just think about it. You'd be surprised at what you could do."

Remy just shook his head.

Once at the home Remy found a parking spot and led Ororo into the building. He tried looking for Rogue in her room, but there was no answer when he knocked, so he tried the cafeteria. Sarah waved at them from the lunch line, and he waved back before seeing Rogue at her usual table. They approached the table and Remy sat down.

"Hello _chere_, how's the homework going?" he asked.

Rogue looked startled, dropping the apple she was eating.

"What are you doing here, Remy? It's Saturday." She said.

Remy fought the urge to laugh at her statement of the obvious. "Yes, I know, but nobody said I couldn't come on Saturdays, and besides, I wanted you to meet someone. Rogue, this is my friend Ororo Munroe; we were talking about her yesterday. Ororo, this is Rogue Darkholme."

O-o-o-o-O

No.

No way.

It had to be a coincidence, didn't it? Ororo was positive that there had to be hundreds of Darkholmes in the world, possibly thousands. But another mutant named Darkholme? What were the chances? She looked Rogue over; there was no physical resemblance to Raven but just because Kurt took after his mother didn't mean she had to; apparently no one knew who the girl's father was anyway. And she was about the right age; the mutant terrorist known as Mystique had disappeared around eighteen years ago. Her partner Destiny had called Professor Xavier one day and informed him that she was dead, but had refused to go into any detail about what had happened. She had also managed to get Mystique's death certificate sealed so Charles wasn't able to get any information that way.

There was never any mention of Mystique having a second child, not from Destiny or from Magneto. She didn't think Charles had thought to ask though; there hadn't been any reason to. Raven Darkholme wasn't exactly the motherly type, especially considering she had tossed her first child off of a bridge.

Ororo guessed that Magneto didn't know of the girl's existence either; with Raven and the foster mother, whom she assumed to be Irene Adler, being deceased, he would most likely have taken Rogue into his custody, be it legally or illegally. He wouldn't have been able to resist; a girl with Rogue's abilities would be invaluable to his desires regarding humanity.

She wasn't sure if Magneto had ever discovered the cause of Raven's death. She assumed he would have looked though; Mystique's work as both an assassin and through the U.S. Civil Service had been valuable to him over the years before her disappearance. Since then he has kept to the sidelines more; Ororo knew that Charles believed he is working on something, but he has yet to discover what. It was only within the past year or so that Magneto had started coming out of the mutant closet more publicly. Someone like Rogue could definitely help him create the mayhem he seemed to want.

Ororo could only assume Rogue's parentage though; she would only get answers from talking to the girl. Did she know anything though? Destiny often kept her motives to herself; since she seemed to have made sure to hide the girl she may have kept Rogue ignorant of her history. Only one way to find out.

"It's nice to meet you, Rogue" she said, taking a seat at the table. The girl had her gloves off as she was eating, so Ororo didn't try to shake her hand. Rogue searched over the table for her dropped apple.

"A little to your left" Remy said. Ororo noticed that he looked around her rather protectively, and then saw for the first time the stares and glares that they were receiving from some of the people at the other tables. Rogue didn't seem to be very popular here. Ororo hoped she could convince the girl to come to New York; she obviously didn't belong here.

"Thanks" Rogue replied, finding the apple a few inches from her hand. She picked it up and took a bite. "So what are you guys doing here? I thought this was your day off."

"Can't I come visit?" Remy teased. "I thought you'd be glad to see me."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "I don't care if you visit; I just wondered why you'd bother bringing your friend over here."

"I wanted to meet you, Rogue. I don't know if Remy told you, but I'm a teacher at a school in New York. A school for mutants. I was hoping we could talk and see if that sounded like a place you'd like to visit, maybe even attend school at."

Rogue paused half way through taking another bite of her apple. "A school just for mutants? People allow that?"

"Well, it's not publicly known as a mutant school. It's just listed as a school for gifted students. We're just kind of vague about _how_ gifted" Ororo said with a smile. "If you're finished with your lunch, maybe we could go back to your room and talk about it?"

"Umm, sure" Rogue said, and standing up, only put one glove on. With the one bare hand she grabbed her half-eaten apple, then picked up what turned out to be an extendable cane that Ororo hadn't noticed sitting to the side of her tray. Remy took the tray.

"I'll put that away" he offered, and didn't give Rogue a chance to respond before walking away with it.

Rogue shrugged. "Come on, he can catch up" she said, and started walking away. Ororo followed, leaving Remy behind in the cafeteria.

"Have you always lived in New Orleans?" she asked as they walked.

"No, Irene and I lived in Mississippi until over a year ago" Rogue replied, a pained look on her face.

That was it. That's all Ororo needed to be convinced that she was looking at Mystique's daughter. It was just too much for it to be a coincidence. Destiny had hidden Raven's child from the world. She supposed she couldn't blame the pre-cog for doing it; she wouldn't want any child falling into Magneto's hands, especially the child of one's partner. She needed to call Charles; he would be amazed at this.

There was one other person who needed to be told, but not until after she talked to Charles. Ororo has been dating Kurt Wagner for the past two years, and she knew that the one thing he valued over almost anything else was family. Kurt had been very young when his birth mother disappeared, so he hadn't gotten to know her, but after having heard about her abandonment of him and her activities as a terrorist, he had grown bitter over her and decided he wanted nothing to do with any part of her, even refusing to take her name. What would he do if he discovered that he had a sister? Would he accept her as family, or would he reject her as an association with the mother whose memory he wanted no part of? Despite his feelings regarding Raven, Kurt was a kind man and she had to hope that he would accept Rogue. He just had to; it looked as though he may be the only family that the girl has.

Ororo supposed she should wait for Remy to join them but she was too impatient to wait, she had to have that extra one percent to confirm what she suspected.

"I see." She said, and paused for a second, trying to think of how to broach the subject. Finally she decided that the direct approach was best. "Rogue, this may seem strange of me to ask, but was your mother's name Raven?"

Rogue stopped suddenly and turned her head in Ororo's general direction, a look of shock on her face.

"Yes, it was." She whispered.

A thrill of excitement went through Ororo. It was confirmed. She could call Charles confident of what she knew. An eighteen year old mystery was about to be solved.

"Rogue, I know who she was. I think I can help you."

O-o-o-o-O

For some reason, Train's "Calling All Angels" came on when writing the last half of this chapter. It surprised me because it felt so appropriate.


	19. Saturday part 2

AN:

AN:

AN: If I owned the X-Men, I wouldn't be a poor college student right now.

O-o-o-o-O

A shock that almost felt like electricity whipped through Rogue. Her mother? This woman knew who her real mother was? She felt like a door that she thought had been shut forever was reopening. There were a million questions, but she didn't know which ones to ask first. She was spared the decision of where to start though, by footsteps behind her.

"Rogue, are you okay? Ororo, what's going on?" The concern was evident in Remy's voice.

"It's okay Remy" Ororo said before Rogue could think of anything to say. "I just told her something she wasn't expecting to hear. Why don't we all go to Rogue's room where we can talk about it."

Rogue heard the words, and they made sense, but she found herself unable to move, like her brain was still trying accept what the other woman had just said and wasn't quite ready to handle anything else at the moment.

"Remy" she managed to speak at last. "She knows my mother. My _real_ mother. Did you know about this?" Is this why he brought her? Because it would just be too weird for him to bring Ororo here and not know that she and Rogue apparently have some kind of connection.

She felt Remy's hand rest gently on the small of her back, and surprised herself by not flinching. It was just Remy, after all.

"No, I didn't know about this" he said, and she believed him. "Are you okay Rogue? You're white as a sheet. How do you know her mother, Ororo?" he asked his friend finally in bewilderment.

"Please Remy, its ok. Let's go to Rogue's room; I don't want to stand in the hall discussing this." Ororo said.

"Come on" Remy said quietly to Rogue. "Let's find out what's going on." She nodded and started walking to her room, unconsciously noting how Remy had automatically sided himself with her without finding out what the situation was first.

It wasn't much further to her room and after letting the other two in she sat down on the bed, resting her cane against the wall next to it. She heard Remy's heavy footsteps approach before he sat down on the bed near her. The creak of the rocking chair told her where Ororo was.

"Alright Ororo, now what's going on? You never mentioned anything about knowing her mother" Remy demanded.

"You never told me her last name until we got here, Remy" the other woman said. "And I didn't know Rogue's mother personally, I was too young, but the head of my school, Professor Charles Xavier, did. Raven Darkholme disappeared around eighteen years ago; no one knew what happened until Charles got a phone call from Irene Adler, telling him that Raven had died. Irene was your foster mother, wasn't she Rogue?"

Rogue nodded slightly. "Yes, she was. She told me that my mother died giving birth to me."

"I see. So that's what happened. Irene refused to tell Charles how Raven had died. It seems that she was trying to hide you, Rogue, and she did a very good job. No one knew that Raven was pregnant." Ororo sighed. "So Irene Adler is dead now also? I wish I had gotten to meet her; she sounded like an intriguing woman. How long has it been?"

"It's been over a year" Rogue said, fiddling with the apple in her hand. "She had a brain tumor. We moved down here so she could have treatment. She never mentioned other people that knew her or my mother though. Why didn't she tell anyone about me? Why did she hide me?" She didn't understand what Irene could have been thinking, and it upset her. It seemed that there were people outside of their little world that could have known her if Irene had allowed it, that possibly could have had arrangements made when she discovered she had cancer.

"I don't know, Rogue" Ororo said "I didn't know the woman, so I don't….."

"She _knew_ people!" Rogue cut in, becoming more upset the more she thought about it. "She had a choice. She didn't have to leave me like this! She didn't have to leave me _here_. Why did she do that to me? Why?" she asked, the apple falling out of her hands as she wrapped her arms around herself. She had never really been upset at Irene after she died for leaving her in the situation she was in. Irene had been sick, and there had only been the two of them in their life together, or so Rogue had thought. Now she discovers that there had been others, people that Irene could have talked to when she became ill; there could have been other decisions made; it didn't have to have happened like this. It made her so angry at her foster mother, which made it all the more painful for the fact that she still loved Irene as much as ever.

"Rogue……" Remy tried to place his hand on her arm but she brushed it aside as another thought occurred to her.

"Do you know who my father is?" she asked.

"No, I'm sorry" Ororo said. "No one knew you existed until now, and I don't know who your mother was involved with before she died. Charles might know though."

Rogue sighed, and this time when Remy touched her arm she let him. She wanted to take his hand, but her free hand was ungloved. She was glad he was there; she didn't know how she would have been able to take this without him to help steady her.

"I don't understand Ororo, why would Rogue's foster mother want to hide her from everyone?" Remy asked.

"I don't know, Remy" Ororo said. "Like I said, I never met the woman; she dropped out of sight after telling Charles of Raven's death. She was a pre-cog though; she could see the future. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she saw something in Rogue's future that she wanted to stop from happening, and that the only way she could do that was to keep Rogue away from everyone that knew them."

"It had to have been pretty bad then, for her to leave Rogue abandoned like this" Remy said angrily. "That was completely irresponsible. She's been stuck in this place for the last year, living with a bunch of idiots."

Rogue shook her head "I don't think she wanted to abandon me" she said quietly. "She never would have wanted to do that. I could hear her crying at night, the headaches were so bad. And she was so sick at the end, she didn't know me sometimes, didn't know what she was saying, didn't know what she was doing. She wasn't herself at all, but I know she didn't want this" she said, remembering sitting at Irene's bedside in the hospital as her foster mother muttered often unrecognizable things in her sleep. They kept her asleep a lot at the end; it was the only way they could keep her comfortable. It had been so heartbreaking to listen to her talk in her sleep though; broken mumblings of things she couldn't understand.

_Don't go to the sky Rogue……..fire…death in the stars………_

So worried, Irene's tone; even in her sleep. Rogue's anger ebbed. There was no way she could have wanted this.

_Don't worry, I've sent it……I've sent it……..just needs…..an answer…….._

"It must have been horrible" she said finally. Death and fire in the sky. Either Irene was hallucinating or she was terrified for her foster daughter.

"So what now?" Remy asked, moving his arm up to go around her shoulders.

"Well, that's up to her" Ororo said. "Rogue, legally you're a ward of the state, but if you decide that you'd like to come back with me to attend school in New York, some arrangement might be able to be made regarding custody. Professor Xavier could request that custody could be signed over to him. I know that makes you sound like an object, but unfortunately that's how it works until you're eighteen."

"Yeah, I know" Rogue said, making a face. Remy's arm felt comfortable around her shoulders; she decided she wasn't going to make him remove it. At least not yet.

"Would he be willing to do that?" Remy asked.

"I don't see why not" Ororo. "He's willing to help any mutant who needs it, but this is also a special case. You see, I haven't told you everything yet, Rogue. I'm happy to meet you, and Charles will be happy to meet you, but there's one more person out there who doesn't know about you who will be _very_ happy to meet you. Apparently Irene never told you, but you're not Raven's first child, you're her second. She has a son named Kurt. He's about seven years older than you, and he lives and works at our school in New York."

Rogue couldn't breathe for a second. She had……..a brother? She had a brother. And Irene never told her? Hiding her from the world possibly because of visions of the future was one thing, but this was a brother, this was _family_. She had family and she hadn't known it. How could Irene have done that? _She had family. _ Rogue had to let that sink in. She had a connection to someone out there; she wasn't truly adrift in the world.

"If that woman was still alive, she'd have an awful lot to answer for" Remy muttered.

Rogue ignored him.

"Kurt" she whispered, trying the name out. It was a nice, solid name. She wondered about the man behind it.

"What's he like?" Rogue finally asked.

"You'd like him" Ororo said, and Rogue could hear the smile in her voice. "He's a very sweet, caring man. Tends to be a clown too."

"What does he look like? Does he look like….our mother?" Rogue asked, finding the use of the word 'our' strange in regards to her mother.

"Have you seen any pictures of Raven?" Ororo asked.

"Yes. I have one somewhere, I think it's packed away with my other stuff. I had it on my nightstand back in Mississippi. She was beautiful; deep blue skin and red hair. I wanted to look like that when I was little" Rogue said, biting back a sad little smile at the memory.

"Yes, he does resemble her" Ororo said. "He has Raven's skin, but his hair is black. He also has a tail. He's a beautiful man."

"Sounds like you like him" Remy teased.

"I do. We've been dating for about two years now" Ororo said, and Rogue smiled. She hadn't met him yet, but Kurt sounded like a very nice guy, and she was glad that he had friends and people he cared about.

"Is he a shape shifter too?" she asked, wondering if how he managed to go about in society unharassed.

"No, his ability is teleportation" Ororo said. "Quite cool, really. He uses an image inducer outside of the school to avoid problems."

"Do…..do you think he'd like me?" Rogue asked hesitantly. Kurt sounded like a sweet guy, but she wasn't exactly sweet herself. She tended to be pessimistic and sarcastic, and couldn't hold her temper. She was working on it, but she still hit Remy sometimes with her cane. Then again he usually deserved it.

"I know he would" Ororo assured her. "Kurt's always wanted to have a brother or sister, and he would love to meet you."

"So you're going to call this Professor Xavier then?" Remy asked.

"Yes. He'll have to consult his lawyers about what our options are. The State of Louisiana has the final say over your guardianship, Rogue, even though we now know you have family out of state. I don't know the exact process, but there's going to be a lot of bureaucratic red tape to go through. That is, of course, assuming that you want to come to New York. Is that what you want?" Ororo asked, and Remy's arm tightened a little around Rogue's shoulders.

Did she want to go to New York? She had the opportunity to escape the home and never deal with Candace again. She'd go to a school with other mutants, and not have to worry about being ostracized for being a mutant. And her brother would be there.

On the other hand…..

She had just met her new teacher yesterday, and she liked Martine very much. Did Professor Xavier have anyone up there familiar with teaching the blind? And the LeBeau's have been so good to her, welcoming her into their home and offering her an education. She'd miss them; Mercy was quickly becoming a good friend, Emil was the class clown that kept her laughing and Tante was just…..Tante. Her warmth and strength would be missed. She'd also miss Jean-Luc and Henri, even though she didn't know them as well as the others. Then there was Remy. Yes, their meeting had been forced upon them by the court, but he had gone above and beyond the necessities of his position. Rogue would never be a damsel, but she had been in distress and Remy had rescued her. He'd put up with her, given it back when she dished it out, and she was trusting him more and more every day. He had proven himself willing to stand up for her and it was what she had needed so badly when she had been abandoned by everyone else in her life.

Apparently Ororo sensed her hesitation. "It's okay Rogue; I understand it's a big decision, and not one you have to make right away. I need to talk to Charles anyway; to explain what's going on and see what advice he offers. At the very least we can put you in contact with your brother. Does that sound alright?"

Rogue nodded quickly. "Yes, that sounds good." She wasn't really sure what else to do at this point, but the one thing she did know for certain that she wanted was to talk to her brother. There were so many questions. He was older than her; he'd be able to tell her what their mother was like; though there was one question that she might be able to get an answer to right now.

"Ororo, why was Kurt living in New York, instead of in Mississippi with me and Irene?"

The other woman was silent for a moment. "I don't know all the details, but from what I understand, Raven…….gave him up. I don't think she felt able to be a mother. Kurt was adopted; then came to live at the school when he was a teenager. His last name is Wagner." Ororo sounded hesitant, like there was something she was holding back. Rogue thought about pressing her, but it was still early on, and she could hopefully ask Kurt all of these things when they finally got to talk. Apparently he wouldn't be able to tell her about their mother though, since it didn't sound like he had known Raven either. The woman was turning out to be such a mystery.

"You said you don't know who Rogue's father was" Remy said at last. "Could Kurt's father be hers as well?"

"I doubt it" Ororo said. "From what information he was able to find, Charles thinks that Kurt's father was a German aristocrat who died years ago; well before Rogue was born."

Remy sighed. "This feels like a soap opera, _chere_. Sounds like you've been better off away from it."

"Yeah, this really feels like I'm better off" Rogue grumbled, indicating her room. She shrugged Remy's arm off of her shoulders and sat back against the pillows.

"Sorry" Remy said. "Gotta admit though, it all sounds real melodramatic."

"True" Rogue admitted. "So when are you calling your professor?" she asked Ororo.

"I'll call him later, when Remy and I return to the house. We still have another couple of anti-mutant groups to visit today" Ororo said. Rogue envied her being able to go back to the LeBeau house; it was only lunchtime and knowing that she wouldn't be able to go back until Monday she was already missing the place, and the people there.

"I see. So how is that going?" Rogue asked.

"Okay I guess" Remy said. ."These people are real fanatics. They really believe that mutants are a threat to society; some of them even believe that we're not human. It's scary."

"Yikes." Rogue muttered. "And to think that people are listening to them."

"Fear of the unknown and unusual" Ororo said. "It's an easy thing to talk people into. And once they're talked into it, it's hard to convince them otherwise. Thankfully there are mutant advocates in Washington, trying to talk reason into the people who would start a panic."

"I hope they talk fast" Remy said. "There are more and more disturbances around here every day. I hope you can help stop them."

"I hope so too." Ororo said. "We should probably get going, Remy. We still have places to go today."

"Okay. Rogue, is Candace here today? I'd like to avoid getting chewed out for showing up on a weekend. It didn't say anywhere that I _can't _come on any other days, but knowing her she'd find something to gripe about with it."

Rogue shook her head. "No, she only does a half day on Saturdays and then has Sundays off. She should be gone by now."

"Good" Remy said. "The less I see of her, the happier I am."

"Yeah, I noticed you're not sweet-talking her anymore" Rogue said with a touch of amusement.

"No way. Just being around her now leaves a bad taste in my mouth" Remy said.

"Well, let's go Remy. Rogue, I'll have Remy get in touch with you after I talk to Charles. I hope to have you and Kurt meet soon." Ororo said, and Rogue heard the creak of the rocking chair as she got up. Remy got up also.

"I'll see you on Monday, Rogue" he said. "Try not to get too bored this weekend."

"Nah" Rogue replied. "Martine gave me enough reading material to keep me busy until Monday."

"Good. See you." He said, and she heard them leave the room. After they were gone, Rogue took her other glove off, found her paperwork, and tried to concentrate on her reading again. It was hard though; thoughts of what Ororo had told her and excitement over meeting her brother crowded her mind. It wasn't going to do herself any good though, to agonize over what was going on; nothing would happen until Ororo talked to this professor of hers. And it certainly wasn't going to get her homework done any faster. So with a sigh Rogue laid down on the bed and went back to trying to understand French grammar.

O-o-o-o-O

"So what are we going to do about this Candace person?" Ororo asked as she followed Remy down the hall. She was still trying to come to terms with what she'd discovered today. She'd tried to answer Rogue's questions as best as she could without giving too much away, and wanted to talk to Charles before answering any more. She didn't think it was a good idea yet for Rogue, or even Remy, to know that Raven Darkholme had been a terrorist before her death, and that Rogue's foster mother had been her partner in both personal and professional life. She felt that Charles would agree; she also hoped that Rogue would agree to come to the Institute and get to know them better before sharing the truth about her family with her. Ororo didn't see why she wouldn't; the girl had been abandoned after Destiny's death to live in a state home, and without friends other than Remy. Although she and Remy did seem to have grown rather close; judging from their easiness with each other and his protective attitude towards her. And it sounded as though the entire LeBeau family was being very kind to her. But perhaps after meeting her brother she may decide come to New York.

She couldn't wait to tell Kurt. Despite his anger over his birth mother and what she had done to him, she couldn't help but think he would be excited and happy to know that he had another blood relative in the world, a sibling best of all.

_Now if Charles can just find a way to get her out of her situation……_

"We're going to see what she's up to this weekend" Remy said, and he led her past the front entrance of the building to another wing. There he stopped at an office door, opened it a crack, peeked inside, then closed it again.

"Nope, nobody home" he said, and went down the hall a little ways to another door. This one was standing ajar, and Ororo could hear a radio playing faintly inside. Remy knocked and pushed the door open a little.

"Hi Alison, is Candace still here?" Remy asked politely.

The sole occupant of the office, a woman who looked to be in her late forties, looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Oh hi Remy, what are you doing here today?"

Remy shrugged. "Just wanted to see Rogue. Is Candace still here?" he repeated patiently.

Alison shook her head. "No, she left already; she only does a half day on Saturday. You can leave a message if you want, but she won't be in until Monday."

"No, that's okay" Remy said. "Did she say what she was doing today?"

Alison seemed to think for a moment. "If I remember correctly, she said something about going to a meeting today; I think it was that same group she visited yesterday."

"Oh really?" Remy asked with interest. "Do you know where that is? She's mentioned them before and I'm curious to know more about them."

"Certainly; it's over at the park this after noon" she said, giving a name that Ororo wasn't familiar with. Remy nodded as if he knew the place though.

"Okay, I know exactly where that is" he said. "Thanks Alison, have a good weekend."

"No problem Remy" she replied, already turning her attention back to her work. "See you Monday."

They left the building and headed back to the car.

"Let's go back to the house before we visit that meeting" Ororo said. "I want to call Charles and let him know what's going on."

"Okay" Remy said as he started up the car.

"That was definitely not the right place for that girl" Ororo said.

"You'll get no arguments for me there, _chere_" Remy said.

"I'm convinced that she would be much happier in New York; hopefully we can pull the strings to convince the state to give Charles guardianship."

"Yeah" Remy said quietly, and Ororo wondered how happy Remy would be if Rogue left.

"You seem to have gotten close over the short time you've known each other" she observed.

Remy shrugged. "We're getting along better, but I'm required to keep her company and keep her out of trouble. We're just trying to make the best of an unasked for situation."

"I see" Ororo said, not quite sure if she believed him. :"So you'll be happy for her if she decides to come live in New York?"

"Of course" Remy said. "The family will miss her; they're really getting to like her, but it would be the best thing for her, seeing as how she has family up there and all."

"Of course" Ororo said.

When they arrived back at the house they could hear electronic sounds and a young man cursing. After the door shut the sound stopped.

"Hey Remy!" came Emil's voice from the living room. "Come help me with this; I can't get past this one part!"

Ororo turned a questioning gaze to Remy.

"Grand Theft Auto" he said with a shrug.

"I see" she said. "Some of the students at the Institute are rather fond of that game."

"Yeah" Remy said. "Do you mind if I go help him for a minute? He won't leave me alone otherwise."

"Sure, go ahead" Ororo said. "I'll be in the library to call Professor Xavier."

"Okay" Remy nodded, and headed off towards the living room.

Ororo smiled to herself as she walked into the library. Some things were never outgrown no matter how old one got to be. Kurt was in his mid-twenties and was one of the most avid video game players at the Institute. His youthful personality was one of the things she loved about him though. She really couldn't wait to tell him her news.

Picking up the phone at the computer desk, she sat down and dialed the Professor's private line.

"Hello?" his kind, mature voice answered.

"Charles, it's me" Ororo said. "I don't know how to begin to tell you this, but the most amazing thing has happened………………………………………..

O-o-o-o-O

Yeah, yeah, I don't know if this qualifies as a cliffhanger or not, but hopefully it'll keep you happy until the next chapter.


	20. Interlude: Little Sister

AN:

AN:

AN: Nope, still don't own the X-Men. It's a shame, really; just think of the fun I could have.

This plot is about 80 percent set in stone. The rest is in flux and always subject to change. A couple of people have given me some things to think about, and I want to thank them for that. They'll probably figure out who they are.

Also, in case anyone thinks I've created another OC, Alan Lewis actually is a canon character from the comics; he just wasn't the leader of the FOH.

O-o-o-o-O

_Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Bayville, New York_

"I don't know what to think, Ororo" Professor Charles Xavier said into the phone. He was facing the window in his office; it had a wide view of the grounds and he could see groups of students out on the lawn, some studying, some playing, others training. The sun shone overhead; all in all it was a beautiful day. Normally he would go out and join them, or just enjoy their pleasure in the day from this view, but he was no longer paying attention. Ororo's discovery had him completely thrown for a loop. Over the years he had wondered what had happened to Mystique, but he would never have imagined what Ororo just told him. He supposed he could understand why Destiny had done what she did, and kept Rogue away from everyone; she and Mystique had been very close, and it made sense for her to have wanted to keep Mystique's daughter with her; the last thing she had of her partner. Add in the theory that Ororo had about a possible vision concerning Rogue's future, and it made even more sense. But for a terminally ill woman, especially one that can see the future, to not make arrangements for her foster daughter in case of her death, just didn't make sense. Xavier felt there had to be more to the situation than what was apparent, but he couldn't think of a way to find out more since the only person who would have the answers was deceased.

"Can you contact the Department of Social Services in Louisiana though, to see what it would take to have her come to New York?" Ororo asked.

"I can, but is this what Rogue wants?"

Ororo sighed. "She hasn't decided yet, but I can't see how she'd want to stay living where she is."

"Isn't she turning 18 this year though? Don't misunderstand me, I would welcome Raven's daughter here gladly, for both her own sake and for Kurt's, but government bureaucracy is a difficult thing to deal with, and the fact that she's a mutant can only make things worse. Might it not be better for her to stay where she is for the time being?" Charles said.

"She doesn't belong there" Ororo said. "She's all alone, no family, no friends; the other residents are afraid of her. And the woman who has authority over her at the home has started attending meetings of the Friends of Humanity. Besides, she's Kurt's sister, Charles. She's family. She belongs with us." Her voice was earnest.

"I just think it may be a little too soon to start up a process like this" Charles said calmly. "From what you've said it doesn't sound like she's in any immediate danger. As far as her education goes, the LeBeau family seems to have befriended her and provided her with a respected teacher; you know we don't have anyone here with any experience working with the blind. If she truly wants this then I'll try to make the arrangements go as quickly as possible, but you said she hadn't decided anything yet. In the meantime though, if she wants to meet Kurt we can fly him down there as soon as they both want."

Ororo made a tiny noise of frustration. "I just get the feeling that it's a bad idea to leave her down here."

"I know, but I just think you're being a bit hasty where it might not be needed. Besides, with Jean-Luc LeBeau's connections, I think the girl should be safe for the time being." As much as Professor Xavier disapproved of the Thieves' Guild, he had to concede that the patriarch was a powerful man in that area and would be able to keep a watchful eye over Mystique's daughter. The fact that Jean-Luc's son was assigned to be a companion was an added bonus. The Professor had never met Remy LeBeau, but according to Storm he was a strong mutant and a dangerous adversary in a fight.

"Alright Charles" Ororo said, giving in. "I won't push her about it, but wait and see what she wants. Please tell Kurt as soon as possible. The one thing that I do know Rogue wants is to meet him, and I just know he'll want to meet her."

"I'll do that as soon as I end this call" Charles assured her. "Do you have anything else to report at the moment?"

"No, not anything that won't be covered in my report when I get back" she said. "Remy and I are going to a Friends of Humanity meeting this afternoon; supposedly their leader Alan Lewis will be there, as well as Rogue's social worker Candace Gillespie. Hopefully we can find out more about the group and just how involved the Gillespie woman is with them."

"Good" Professor Xavier said, turning his chair away from the window. "Good luck with that then. I'm sure Kurt will be calling you as soon as I'm done telling him about Rogue. Be safe and we will see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Charles. Goodbye." She said, and he listened to the click of the phone before hanging up. Taking a moment, he closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to tell Kurt about his mother and sister. He knew that the young man held a lot of anger towards his mother, for both having almost killed him as a baby and for how she had lived her life since then, but Charles didn't know if that anger and resentment would lead Kurt to reject his sister. He hoped he knew Kurt enough to think that he wouldn't, but people could be so unpredictable when it came to their families.

_Kurt, could you come to my office please, I need to talk to you_

O-o-o-o-O

The turtles were after him.

Kurt ran as fast as he could in his current environment, wishing he access to his teleportation power. He leapt off of brick walls, landed on mushrooms and avoided cannonballs as he hurried along. He was almost there, not much farther and he would make his escape…………..

…so close….

_Kurt, could you come to my office please, I need to talk to you_

Startled by the unexpected intrusion into his mind, Kurt lost his concentration and fell into the waiting mouth of the man-eating plant that popped out of the pipe he was trying to jump over.

"DAMN!" He yelled, watching as GAME OVER flashed over the screen. He had gotten further in this level than he ever had before. Despite all the more advanced games out there, Kurt still loved Mario Brothers. Sometimes you just have to go back to the classics.

_Watch the language around the students please, Kurt, _ Professor Xavier admonished him gently.

_Sorry Professor, I'll be right over, _Kurt apologized, and teleported over into the Professor's office.

"So what's up?" he asked, taking a seat in a chair.

"You know, you could just walk" Charles observed.

"But this is faster." Kurt grinned.

"True." Charles said. "Anyway, I just got off the phone with Ororo…"

Kurt perked up. "How is she? Is she coming home early?" he asked eagerly. He knew his girlfriend would be back tomorrow, but he missed her already even though she hadn't even been gone for a day yet.

"She's fine, and no, she will be returning here tomorrow as originally planned." Charles said, and Kurt sat back in his chair, a little disappointed.

"So what did she say?" he asked.

Charles shifted in his chair, looking a little uncomfortable. "She had some……unusual news. I'm still a bit in shock from this myself. Her friend Remy LeBeau has come across a 17 year old girl named Rogue Darkholme. If the information is correct, she is Mystique's second child."

Kurt felt a sensation of numbness start in his chest and spread throughout him. It was like someone had come up and punched him. Mystique…….his mother had a second child?

"I……have a sister?" he said quietly. "I thought Mystique was dead."

Charles nodded. "According to the girl, Raven died in childbirth. She was raised by Irene Adler in Mississippi."

Kurt frowned. "Why didn't she ever say anything?" he asked in confusion.

"Nobody knows. Destiny died over a year ago from cancer. No one knows who Rogue's father is, and she had no other family that anyone knew of. A car accident when she was ten left her blind, so after Irene died she was placed in a state home for the disabled." Charles sighed. "There's more though. Rogue is a mutant. From what Remy says, her ability is to absorb life force, thoughts, memories and mutant powers via touch. Naturally this has made things rather difficult for her."

"I can't even imagine" Kurt said, lost in thought. He had a sister. All this time, all these years, and he had never known. Nobody had known, apparently.

"Are we going to get her?" he asked. "When do we leave?" He hadn't met this girl yet, didn't know anything about her; but she was family. She needed to be here with him, not somewhere down south where she didn't have anyone.

"We're not going anywhere just yet. Rogue is a ward of the state of Louisiana; we can't just go down and bring her back with us……" Charles started to say, but Kurt cut in on him.

"We can't leave her down there Professor; she's my sister. She belongs here with her family. I'm the only one she has. How can you expect me to leave her there on her own like that?" Kurt said, getting upset.

"It's not that easy, Kurt" Charles continued. "As I was saying, she's a ward of the state; there would be an immense amount of red tape and paperwork to go through if we wanted to get her released from state custody."

Kurt started to open his mouth to protest, but Charles kept speaking. "She will be 18 in less than a year; then she's free to do what she pleases. Ororo says that other than her not being a popular person due to her being a mutant; the place where she lives seems to be clean and respectable. Ororo seems to be as eager as you to bring her to New York, but apparently Rogue isn't ready to make a decision. The LeBeau family has found a tutor for her, one who I understand is quite respected in her field, and Remy was assigned to be companion to her for his community service."

"Community service?" Kurt said with concern. "This Remy guy is a criminal?"

"The charges were only for theft, and it is the first time he's ever been arrested" Charles said calmly. "He would never be placed in such an assignment if he was a violent person."

"I don't care" Kurt said angrily. "What the hell are those people doing, having my sister spend time with a criminal?" He hadn't even met Rogue yet, but he was already starting to feel protective of her. He was her big brother; _he_ was the one who should be looking out for her. He couldn't help but a feel a very deep anger towards Destiny, for keeping them apart; for denying them of the childhood they should have spent growing up together. He'd been robbed of being the big brother; of teasing his sister, practical jokes and holidays shared, Saturday morning cartoons and video games……well, okay, with her being blind they couldn't do that, but there was still so much else they could have done and learned together.

"Why did she do that, Professor?" Kurt asked. "Why did Destiny leave her all alone like that? She should have contacted us when she got sick; we could have brought Rogue here when she died; she shouldn't have been left alone like that."

"I don't know, Kurt" Charles said. "Irene was a practical woman. It doesn't make sense that she would leave her foster daughter abandoned like she did. I can't help but think that there's something else we don't know about; something that possibly didn't go the way she planned. We may never know though; if something was supposed to happen, she didn't share anything with Rogue about it. All we can do now is offer her any support she needs or wants; as I said she hasn't made a decision about where she wants to stay yet."

Charles paused. "Ororo did say though that the one thing Rogue did say she wanted was to meet you."

"Really?" Kurt asked, his spirits lifting. He couldn't help but be happy by this; he hoped she liked him. Would she mind having a blue, fuzzy brother? Yes, she couldn't see him, but still; he felt self-conscious about his appearance in public, and especially now as he was going to meet someone who he hoped would become an important part of his life. He couldn't imagine not liking her; yes, she was Mystique's daughter but that wasn't her fault. Besides she had never met their mother so there was really no reason to think that she had grown up to be like Mystique. He wondered what Rogue looked like. Did she look like him and their mother? Not that it was a bad thing, but he hoped not for her sake; it would just be one more thing to deal with in a life that already had seemed to have thrown a lot at her. His sister. He still couldn't quite believe it. He had always wanted brothers or sisters, and had regretted that his adoptive parents never had any other children. Kurt couldn't wait to meet her. He wanted to make up for all the years they hadn't had together. And the sooner he brought Rogue to New York, the sooner he could start.

"So when can I meet her?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't know yet" Charles said. "I'll have to speak to Rogue. The Lebeau home will probably be the best place to get together, so I'll speak to Jean-Luc as well. I'm sure he'll be willing to have us there. She won't be there again until Monday, so we'll call then."

Kurt made a grumble of frustration. It annoyed him that now that he'd found out about his sister, he'd have to wait until Monday to start plans for meeting her. There wasn't much he could do about though.

"Alright" he sighed. "Monday then." After a moment he straightened in his chair. "I'm going to go call Ororo" he said, and popped out of the Professor's office without another word. A moment later Kurt popped back in again.

"What's the phone number down there?" he asked with a little embarrassment. He just remembered that he had forgotten to get it from her before she left this morning.

Professor Xavier smiled in amusement. "That usually helps, doesn't it?" he said, and gave him the number.

Kurt grinned. "Thanks" he said, and popped back out again. Once in his room he landed on his bed, grabbed the phone and dialed the number. After a few rings a young man's voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Kurt Wagner, up at Xavier's. Is Ororo there?" Kurt asked.

"Nah, you just missed them. She and Remy went out to some anti-mutant rally. Left me high and dry, too. Remy didn't finish helping me with this one level like he told me he would." The young man said in annoyance.

"One level of what?" Kurt asked.

"Grand Theft Auto" he said, and mentioned where he was stuck.

"Oh, that's easy!" Kurt exclaimed, and told the other guy how to get through it.

"All you do is………………."

O-o-o-o-O


	21. Saturday part 3

AN: Nope, don't own the X-Men

AN: Nope, still don't own the X-Men. And algebra sucks.

O-o-o-o-O

"……and what makes things worse is that we can't tell who they are. That innocent-looking little girl sitting next to your child in class could be a ticking time bomb. Do you want your son or daughter to be in the line of fire when that bomb goes off? And what about your child's teacher? He or she could……."

Remy tried to pay attention to the speech being given, but it was hard, as every time he did pay attention he only ended up getting pissed off. He and Ororo were sitting at the back of the audience listening to Alan Lewis, the founder of the Friends of Humanity, describe the mutant threat and the need for action for the sake of the safety of normal people everywhere. Although Remy hated every word that came out of the man's mouth, he had to admit that Lewis was persuasive and knew how to strike fear into the hearts of his audience.

Did he have to do it here though?

The rally was being held at the same park he had brought Rogue to a couple of days ago; seated across the pond from where they had been, if Remy turned his head he could see the ducks swimming contentedly on the water, oblivious to the hate being sold nearby them.

And the people were buying what the FOH had to sell. Around him he could see faces with varying degrees of belief and fear. A few people had walked off when Lewis started talking, and the occasional straggler continued to leave occasionally, but for the most part people were listening. It was really pathetic. He supposed that part of him couldn't help but understand though. Here was something new and different, so strange and scary; it was easier to accept that it was dangerous and needed to be gotten rid of, rather than have to go through the work of trying to accept and live with it. Better to just get rid of mutants and be done with it, rather than have them around and always be wondering if it's safe. This seemed to be the line of thinking that people wanted to take, anyway. It frustrated him that people would take that route, but then they were being allowed to believe by the FOH that mutants weren't really people, so that kind of gave them permission to do what they wanted.

Ororo sat beside him, calmly recording the speech on a video camera. He guessed that her Professor Xavier wanted to see a copy of it as part of this investigation they were doing. He didn't know how she was able to just sit there while that man up front said the things he did.

"…..these are not people, these are weapons; weapons that walk and talk and go wherever they want without anyone knowing. Don't we have laws governing the use and registration of guns? Well some of these mutants are a hundred times deadlier than any gun on the market…………"

"Calm down Remy" Ororo hissed, and Remy looked down to realize he had an FOH pamphlet he had been given, tightly clutched in one hand, and it was glowing bright red. It was a struggle, but eventually he was able to relax enough to withdraw the charge back into himself. The last thing they needed was a mutant showing his powers, especially an explosive power like his that would never been seen as anything but an attack. It would be just what the FOH needed. "_Mutant Attack at Peaceful Rally" _He could see the headline now.

"Sorry" he whispered, and Ororo nodded.

"It's alright; just be careful, and try not to let him get to you."

Remy scowled. "How though? That bastard is up there telling people mutants aren't human, and they're believing him! How can you stand it?"

"By remembering that not everyone is listening, Remy. This is just a small percentage of people out there; there are plenty more who have sense enough to not buy into the fear these people are selling" Ororo whispered. "Stop listening. Do me a favor, and take a look at the crowd. See if you can recognize anyone out there, like political figures and such. We need to know if anyone in power around here is getting into this group."

"Ok" Remy said, and tried to concentrate on the people in the crowd, rather than the speech being given. And as he looked around, he could see a few faces he recognized; including several prominent businessmen, two city council members, and a judge. They all looked as fixated on what Lewis was saying as the other people in the crowd. One of the city council members in particular looked like he was in church; his attention was so caught by Lewis's words.

Remy looked further up the aisle, and there in the second row, just to his right of his vision so that he could see the side of her face, was Candace Gillespie, the bureaucratic rat. Like the city council member, her attention was completely caught by Lewis. Was she just indulging her ignorance and listening to her own fear by paying attention to these people, or had she already committed herself to them and was already participating in things that could hurt himself and Rogue? The woman already had a convenient little guinea pig under her thumb; it would be too easy for her to have Rogue to disappear to one of the labs he had heard rumors about. His fingers tightened and Remy looked down, realizing he was charging the pamphlet again. With a sigh he withdrew the energy and turned to Ororo.

"Over there, _chere,"_ he whispered as he started to point out and name the people he recognized. Finally he pointed to Candace.

"And that is Rogue's social worker, Candace Gillespie. Prime example of how brains aren't required to get into government service" he said, a look of disgust on his face. "If that woman had her way then Rogue would be locked away somewhere. She says she wants everyone to be safe but she carries it too far. I don't think I've helped any with that" Remy admitted with very little shame. "I seem to get on her bad side."

Ororo tried to paste an innocent look on her face, but failed miserably. "Really? I can't imagine why."

Remy gave a grin that faded away quickly. "Do we have to stay here for the whole thing, Ororo? You've got most of his speech on tape already; I'm going to go nuts sitting here listening to this crap."

Ororo shook her head. "No, we can leave if you want. I don't need you blowing up the back row anyway." She stood up and stretched. "Come on."

Remy sighed in relief and got up to follow her. He remained silent as they moved out of the row and didn't say anything until they reached the pond, away from the crowd.

"How can they do that? How can they talk like that?" He asked angrily, walking along the edge of the water. "That creep's telling people that we're pretty much animals……no, worse than animals…..monsters…..that it's okay to misuse or kill us, and people are LISTENING to him!"

"That's why I'm here, Remy" Ororo said as she walked with him. "If we know what they're saying, and who's listening to it, we have a better chance of stopping it. It doesn't have to be the way they want."

"You sound so sure" Remy said with a bit of envy. He wanted some of that confidence, that knowledge that everything would be alright. It just seemed like the anti-mutant voices grew stronger and stronger, and few others rose in their defense. Who was speaking up for people like himself and Rogue? Not too many people that he could see.

"I am sure" Ororo replied. "It may not seem like it, but there are people out there working against the hate-mongers; who are working toward a peaceful co-existence despite the hatred and negativity. And their words are being listened to as well."

"So why can't I hear them?" Remy asked bitterly.

"Because unfortunately we don't seem to have many of them here. The anti-mutant groups are very popular in this area. It's not that way everywhere though. And you're helping, Remy" Ororo assured him. "You've been a big help today. And you could be more help in the future, too." She paused. "If Rogue comes up to New York, do you think you'd want to go with her? There are a number of us there who are doing what we can to help mutant relations."

Remy shook his head. "No, 'fraid not. I'm getting married; probably pretty soon from the way that Belle's talking. My future is here. We're going to stop this damn war that's been going on for too long. That's where my path lies." The thought was a bit tempting; he had never really been to the Northeast much, and the idea of helping in the mutant cause was a good one; but here he had Belle, the Guild and his family. He was going to build a peace and protect his family; that was the important thing to him right now. Even if Rogue would be there………. That would be an incentive too; he wanted to see her meet her brother, make friends and finally have something resembling a real life. But he had too much responsibility here, and even if Belle was acting like a brat right now, he had made her a promise and he intended to keep it.

"Well, I hope that if your future changes and you find yourself free to choose, that you consider my offer" Ororo said.

Remy nodded. "I'll keep it in mind." He said, and started walking towards the parking lot. "So you think Rogue will go to that school of yours with you?" he asked, trying to quell the bit of anxiety that rose at the thought of her picking up and leaving. It would be a shame if she left just when they were finally getting along.

Ororo shrugged. "I can't see why she wouldn't. She has family there, and the Institute would be a much friendlier environment than where she is."

"True" Remy admitted with a bit of reluctance. "Everyone in the family really likes her though, they'd be sorry to see her go. Assuming she does, of course." They reached the car a minute later.

"Did you have anywhere else you needed to go?" he asked as he opened the door for his friend.

"No, I think I have what I need for the moment" Ororo said. "This and the other info we collected should help us get an idea of the size of the anti-mutant community in this area, and who's active in it. I think we're done for the day. I need to call Kurt, anyway; he's probably tried to call by now."

Remy started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "Why didn't you call him before we left?" he asked curiously.

Ororo smiled. "Because by the time I got off the phone with him it would have been night time. He's a bit of a chatterbox when he's excited about something."

"So will we get to meet him anytime soon?" Remy asked teasingly. "You've been keeping him under wraps." He loved to tease Ororo. She was too serious sometimes.

"Probably. Hopefully I'll be back down with him soon to introduce him to Rogue." Ororo said, looking out the window as they drove back to the house.

"But why the secrecy? I think it's great that you've found someone" Remy said.

Ororo shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's because he's so different from what I'm used to. Kurt's a very spiritual man; very moral. I was ashamed to tell him about my background when we first started dating; I didn't think he'd understand how it was for me back then, and why I needed to steal."

"He did though, obviously" Remy said. "But you aren't sure how he'd feel about your continued friendship with a family of thieves, are you?" Remy could understand if she felt embarrassed about her association with his family. He'd never felt any guilt or embarrassment about what he did, but Ororo had stolen as a child only out of necessity, and now that she had made a life for herself and worked to put herself in a position of respect, he could see how her past associations could be uncomfortable for her. He was sorry if she felt that way, but it was understandable.

"Yeah" Ororo admitted reluctantly. "I hope he comes to know and like all of you though. I think you'd like him Remy. He reminds me a bit of Emil sometimes; he's a video game addict and one of the biggest pranksters at the Institute. He's also very sweet and has a heart bigger than almost anyone I've ever met" she finished with a smile.

Remy grinned sideways at his friend. "'Roro and Kurt sitting in a tree….." he said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh stop it" Ororo said, making a face at him. "I swear, Remy LeBeau, will you ever grow up?"

"Not if I can help it" he replied defiantly.

"It will be unavoidable sooner or later" Ororo said. "You're going to have to if you want to end the feud between the Guilds the way you want to. I think I'm seeing traces of it already though; this business with Rogue has brought out some maturity in you I haven't seen before."

"But you don't see me that often" Remy said.

"True, but Jean-Luc and I talk. He's impressed with how you've taken the initiative on this situation and stood up to the system. It's pretty brave for someone who's on probation and can't afford to rock the boat."

Remy shrugged and made a noncommittal sound. He was still undecided sometimes about whether it had been brave or stupid to take on the state of Louisiana like that, but he hadn't seen any other choice. Rogue's situation had just been so wrong that he just couldn't see himself doing anything else. So far it was working out though.

"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing" he finally said.

Ororo nodded. "Are you sure you aren't in the wrong profession, Remy?" she teased. "It looks like you may be cut out to be a hero rather than a thief."

He gave a snort of laughter. "Me? A hero? Please, that's the last thing I could ever see myself being" Even if he did make Sir Lancelot look like chopped liver, he was too set in his ways and enjoyed what he did too much to consider trying to be one of the good guys.

"What's with you trying to play guidance counselor, anyway?" he asked.

Ororo looked out the window again. "I can't help it; I just see so much potential in you Remy, that it seems a waste for you to spend your life as a criminal when you could do so much more."

Remy frowned. "I don't understand what you're trying to recruit me for, _chere_, but things are fine here. Belle and I are going to get married, we'll stop this stupid fighting between the Guilds, and my family will be safe. I don't need anything else."

"Okay, okay" Ororo said in a tone of resignation. "If you're sure that this is what you really want, I'll leave it alone"

"Thank you" Remy said as they turned onto his street. When they pulled up in front of the house he could see Belle sitting on the front step, and it looked like she had been waiting for them awhile. He really hoped she wasn't there to pick up their argument from where they had left off; he didn't really feel like getting into it again with her today.

"That's Belle" he said, parking the car.

Ororo looked over his fiancée, a neutral expression on her face. "She's very pretty."

"Yep. Smart, too. There's a very good chance she'll take over from her father one day."

"Such a commendable quality in a spouse; 'she's an excellent Assassin'". Ororo said, making a face.

Remy sighed. "Oh come on, don't you start too."

"Remy she sounds like a lovely person except for this whole murder as a career thing" Ororo said.

"A person isn't necessarily what they do for a living. She's not her father or brother" Remy protested, running one hand through his hair to get it out of his face. "I don't know why I'm having to defend myself to people about who I marry when it wasn't even my idea in the first place. Look, you were wanting to meet her, right? Let's go meet her." Remy didn't bother waiting for an answer, he just got out of the car and walked over to the front porch, where Belle had gotten up and was standing on the steps watching them.

"Hello _chere_" he said, bending down to give her kiss. "That's Ororo over there; she's Papa's friend from New York. Don't worry, she has a boyfriend."

Belle shrugged. "It's ok Remy, I didn't come to fight. Can we talk? We left things badly last night." She looked calm, and Remy hoped that she really was serious about not wanting to argue.

In the meantime Ororo had come up behind them. "Hi, I'm Ororo Munroe; I've known Remy's father since I was a child." She said, sticking out her hand.

Belle stepped back from Remy and shook the offered hand. "Belladonna Boudreaux, nice to meet you" she replied in a civil tone. Remy was surprised. He wasn't sure if it his statement concerning Ororo's status, or Belle's declaration of not wanting to fight, but he was happy that she was being civil to his family's friend.

Ororo smiled. "It's good to meet you at last. I'm looking forward to the wedding. Have you decided on a date yet?"

Remy noticed with a faint trace of annoyance that she didn't seem to be including him in this question. Then again he supposed that with weddings traditionally being the bride's big day, his opinion probably didn't matter that much. Belle was going to go ahead and do what she wanted anyway.

"Almost. Actually, that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about, Remy" Belle said, looking over at him. "Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure" Remy said. "We'll be back in a little while" he told Ororo.

"That's okay" she replied. "I want to go call Kurt anyway. He's probably impatiently waiting for me to call." With that she headed up the steps into the house.

Belle hooked her arm through his and led him down the steps to the sidewalk. "I wanted to apologize for last night, Remy" she said as they walked. "I was being unreasonable. Once I really thought about it, I realized there couldn't possible be anything going on between you and Rogue."

Remy started to smile; he was glad to hear that she was seeing reason about the whole thing. But then she continued.

"I mean, you two have only known each other for a week; besides, she can't see you and can't touch you. What kind of relationship would you be able to have?"

Remy frowned. She could really be shallow sometimes. "You know, there's more to a relationship than touch."

Belle laughed at this. "Please Remy, you? Are you saying that as much as you love sex, you'd be willing and able to have a relationship without touch? Sorry if I don't believe you."

That definitely annoyed him. Just because she was shallow, that didn't mean that he was. He could have a relationship without touch, couldn't he? If for some strange reason he ended up in a relationship with Rogue, would he be okay with never being able to touch her? Somehow he thought maybe he could. It was a moot point though; he was with Belle.

"You know _chere_, maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do" Remy said, removing his arm from hers.

Belle sighed. "Sorry Remy. I just have a hard time picturing you living like that. Let's not argue though, please. I wanted to talk about the wedding. I was thinking, we don't have to wait forever, and it really isn't taking as long as I thought it would to get the things I want. I figure we could get married in about two months. How does that sound?"

Remy shrugged. He didn't see anything wrong with the idea. He couldn't remember why they had agreed on a long engagement in the first place; they might as well get it over with. Then they could work on fixing things between the Guilds.

"I don't mind. Where do you want to have it?"

Belle smiled. "One of the old cathedrals; the gothic-looking ones with the statues and large stained glass windows. There's one that has a huge old-fashioned organ; I saw it once when I was on a job."

Remy made a face. "You didn't kill a priest, did you?" he asked in distaste.

Belle shook her head. "No, just a guy who liked to go to Mass there."

Remy's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "You killed him during Mass??"

"It was the perfect opportunity" Belle said matter-of-factly.

Remy shook his head at her callousness. "I wonder about you sometimes, Belle."

"You shouldn't. You've always known who I am." Belle said. "So we'll get married in two months at the cathedral with the organ. I forgot what the name was; I'll go back and look it up later."

They had stopped by where she had parked her car down the street from the house. She leaned against a lamp post.

"I want to get the invitations written out so if you could get me a list of who you want invited that would be great" she said.

Remy nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go now; I want to spend some time with Ororo before she leaves tomorrow."

Thankfully Belle didn't seem to react at all to this. Maybe with the wedding becoming more of a reality she'd be able to let go of some of this jealousy she had towards other women in Remy's life. He could only hope.

"Okay. I'll give you a call tomorrow to get the list from you" she said, and leaned up to kiss Remy. He returned the kiss happily, running his fingers into her soft hair.

"_Je'taime_" he whispered, and Belle smiled.

"Love you too Remy" she said, and letting go of him, walked over to her car to leave.

Remy headed back to the house, feeling much better than he had earlier. Other than the whole business with the anti-mutant groups, today had been a rather nice day. Rogue had found out she had family, and he and Belle had made up. All in all a rather nice day.

A happy smile on his face, Remy closed the door behind him and went to see what Tante Mattie was making for dinner.

O-o-o-o-O

"So what is she like?" Kurt asked over the phone line.

"Well, I didn't see her for very long, and she was in shock from the news I gave her, so it was kind of hard to judge her personality" Ororo said. She was curled up in one of the large comfy arm chairs in the library. She had been right; Kurt had scolded her for leaving the house before calling to tell him about his sister. She had wanted to get her fact-finding done for the day though before settling down to talk to him.

"She seems like a nice girl though; I think you'll like her" she continued, twisting the phone cord around one finger.

"I hope so" Kurt said. "Professor Xavier said she wanted to meet me. When do you think I can come down?"

"Yes, she does want to meet you. In fact, I think she's as nervous as you are about it" Ororo said. "I'll give her a call tomorrow and see what she wants to do. It'll probably have to be Monday; it'll be easier to visit her while she's here with the LeBeau's." She decided she didn't want to mention Candace Gillespie's anti-mutant affiliation to her boyfriend yet. He had already expressed his aggravation at not being able to bring Rogue back to New York with him. She sympathized and agreed with him, but had decided to go along with what Charles wanted to do for now.

"The LeBeau's" Kurt grumbled. "I can't believe they have her spending her days with a bunch of thieves."

Ororo frowned. "Kurt, Jean-Luc has been my friend for years. He and the rest of the family have been very good to Rogue. I feel more comfortable with her being here than at that home she lives in. She's very safe here."

"She'd be safer here" Kurt said. "It's just not right. She's my sister, Ororo. I should be the one watching out for her."

"Kurt, you haven't even met her yet. You could end up not being able to stand each other."

"I know. But I want to at least be able offer her the option of a home." Kurt said. "Besides, I have a feeling we'll get along."

"I hope so" Ororo said.

From outside the library she heard Mattie call for dinner, and her stomach grumbled.

"Listen Kurt, it's time for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you" she said.

"_Ich liebe dich"_ Kurt said, the smile apparent in his voice.

"Goodnight" Ororo said, and hung up the phone. Getting up from the chair, she left the library, looking forward to dinner and spending time with her friends before her departure tomorrow.

O-o-o-o-O

Sunday morning was bright and sunny. Most of the family slept in, with the exception of Henri, who was a morning person and in Remy's opinion a glutton for punishment, and after a nice leisurely breakfast they went their separate ways. Tante Mattie went to church, Mercy settled into a lawn chair in the back yard with a glass of iced tea and a book, and his _pere_, Henri and Emil went fishing.

Remy was reclining on Ororo's bed watching her pack. She was a lot neater than he was, he observed. She actually bothered to fold her clothes before putting them in the bag.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" he asked. "There are always good concerts and stuff happening on the weekends."

Ororo shook her head slightly as she folded up her pajamas. "Sorry, but I promised Kurt that I'd be home as soon as I could. Besides, I need to give Charles my report concerning the anti-mutant groups we visited. I'll be back down for the wedding though. Just don't forget to send me an invitation."

"Of course" Remy said, turning his gaze to the ceiling. A medium-sized spider looked like it was getting ready to spin a web in the corner. "I'll have Belle put you near the top of the list."

"Are you going to invite Rogue?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. I suppose I will. She and Belle don't like each other though." Now that he thought about it, Remy decided that he did want her there. It seemed safe to consider her a friend now, and as such he wanted her to celebrate with them.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Ororo said, picking her bag up from off of the bed. "I hope it doesn't cause any trouble, with Rogue spending so much time with your family."

Remy glanced at his friend, and seeing that she was ready to, stopped his contemplation of the spider and got off the bed.

"I hope not. Belle seemed pretty reasonable about it today though. Maybe things will be okay."

"Good." Ororo said, heading out of the room. "We need to go. My ride will be arriving in half an hour."

The ride to the private airport was uneventful, as they chatted amiably about little things. Reaching the hangar, Remy parked Mercy's car and grabbed Ororo's bag. She got out and stood, watching the sky.

They didn't have long to wait. Before too long the unusual black jet appeared in the sky and made its descent onto the runway. Remy and Ororo walked over to the plane. Remy was expecting the same young man who had piloted it last time, but this time the door opened to reveal a dark-haired young man wearing a big grin on his face. Remy was shocked when the man disappeared into the air one second, only to reappear in front of Ororo next.

"Hello _liebes_" he said, the grin never leaving his face.

Ororo looked surprised. "Kurt? What are you doing her? Where's Scott?"

The young man who was apparently Ororo's boyfriend shrugged. "I decided I didn't want to wait, so I talked Scott into letting me take his place." He said before taking Ororo's face in his hands and kissing her.

"So, when can we go see my sister?"

O-o-o-o-O


	22. Sunday part 1

AN:

AN: X-Men? Mine? Unfortunately not. I can't believe I've hit the 400 review mark with this story. _Insert girlish squeal here_. I never could have guessed that it would be this popular; I think it's been better received than my first story, _Starting Today_ (not dead, just hibernating). I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to read and put up with me and my sometimes infrequent updates. So far this is the longest chapter I've ever written; hopefully it makes up for the time it took to write it.

O-o-o-o-O

Kurt grinned. He loved the look of surprise that had come over Ororo's face when she had seen him. Priceless. Her almost perpetual serenity was one of the things he loved about her, but at the same time he took delight in shaking her up a bit.

Ororo shook her head, and he could see that she was trying to frown, but failed.

"You know, the romantic thing to do would be to say that you couldn't wait to see me." she said, and gave him a hug. "I'm happy to see you anyway."

"Good, because that was the other reason I came down." Kurt said, and smiled, burying his face in the side of her neck as he held her. And it was true; even with just the overnight trip he had missed her terribly. And he would have been perfectly happy to just stay the way he was, wrapped up in her arms, if it weren't the sound of a throat clearing nearby.

"Sorry to break up your happy little moment, _chere_, but do you mind introducing me to your friend?" came a voice with a very distinct Cajun accent.

Ororo slowly let go of Kurt, but took his hand as she turned to face the young man behind her.

"Sorry, Remy. This is my boyfriend, Kurt Wagner. Kurt, this is Remy LeBeau, the person who's been playing companion to Rogue."

Kurt reluctantly extended his hand to the other man. He didn't look very reliable at all, and he wondered what possible kind of companion Remy could be to a young blind girl. The fact that he was a convicted criminal didn't help matters anyway. Still he must have at least one redeeming quality, otherwise Ororo wouldn't be his friend. Therefore he would be civil for her sake. It didn't mean he had to like it though.

"Good to meet you." Remy said, and shook his hand. "Ororo's told us about you."

"Good." Kurt replied, and squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "So, where is this home that Rogue is staying in?"

"Get straight to the point, don't you?" Remy commented, rolling his eyes. "It's in a different part of town, but I don't get to go over there except on weekdays."

"That didn't stop you from bringing me yesterday, Remy." Ororo said. "Besides, Kurt is her relative, and should be able to visit whenever he wants."

"Exactly. So what are we waiting for? We've both got classes tomorrow and can't stay all day. I want to get in as much time with my sister as I can." Kurt said, and keeping hold of Ororo's hand, he teleported them over to the car parked nearby. He glanced back at Remy and grinned at the look of surprise on his face. Finally he shook his head and walked over to join them at the car.

"You didn't have any plans today, did you Remy?" Ororo asked as she got in the car. Kurt sat in the back behind his girlfriend, and took the opportunity to play with her beautiful white hair.

"Well, I was thinking I'd go see Belle after I dropped you off." Remy said after getting in the car and starting it up. "I know Rogue wants to meet her brother though."

"Thanks Remy." Ororo said happily, then turned back towards Kurt. "Belle is Remy's fiancée; they're getting married in two months. I've already promised that I'd come back down for the wedding."

Kurt nodded. For some reason though, he just couldn't see an untrustworthy-looking guy like Remy LeBeau committing himself to any woman.

"Congratulations" was all he said.

"_Merci."_ Remy replied, and drove them out of the airport. "Have you been to New Orleans before?" he asked once they were on the road.

"No, this is my first time." Kurt said, looking out the window.

"Shame you can't stay longer. Best city in the world." Remy said, but Kurt didn't think he sounded too sincere.

"Well I plan to be back." he said. "We'll need to collect Rogue's things when we bring her back to New York."

Remy glanced up into the rear-view mirror, and didn't look too happy with the idea. "What makes you think she'll go with you? You haven't even met her yet."

Remy was right, they hadn't met yet, but Kurt just knew she'd agree to come up north. Besides, why would she want to stay down here when she could be with her family?

"What makes you think she'd want to stay here?" he retorted. "It doesn't sound like she's being treated well. I'd think she want to come now that she knows she has family."

"Boys, knock it off." Ororo said in her best teacher voice. "Rogue will make her own decision. Remy, since this is Kurt's first time here, why don't you play tourist guide."

Remy sighed. "Yes dear." he said mockingly. Then he proceeded to describe the sights to Kurt as they drove. Kurt had to admit, it was a beautiful area, very rich in culture and history. It really was too bad that he couldn't stay longer. Perhaps when he came back down to get Rogue, he could stay for a couple days and see everything. He wanted to see if Cajun food was really as good as everyone said it was.

Eventually they came into a residential neighborhood, and Remy pulled into the parking lot of a clean, impersonal looking building with a sign out front that said Azalea Lane Home for the Disabled.

Kurt got out of the car and looked the place over. "It looks so nice and welcoming." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a government home, what do you expect?" Ororo said as she joined him. Kurt took her hand and glanced back at Remy as he stepped away from the vehicle.

"Aren't you going to lock the car?" he asked.

"Our cars having homing devices. Besides, I pity anyone that would try to take my sister in law's car." Remy said.

"Very true." Ororo grinned.

Kurt just shook his head and started walking towards the building. He couldn't believe his sister had been stuck associating with people like this.

Ororo caught up with him. "Oh don't be like this Kurt. Rogue has been perfectly alright."

"_Oui_. Thieves know how to keep important things safe." Remy said from behind them.

Kurt found the inside of the building as cold and impersonal as the outside.

"I almost feel like I'm in a hospital." he said with distaste.

"Well, some of the residents do need constant medical care." Remy said, remembering some of the things Candace had told him on their tour his first day. He pointed over to the corridor leading to the women's wing.

"Over this way."

Kurt let Remy lead the way, following behind with Ororo. There was a tight ball of excitement in his stomach. Almost there. Would Rogue like him? Would she agree to come back home with him? His worst fear was that she would have nothing to do with him and want to stay here in New Orleans. She just had to come to the Institute with him. He couldn't stand the thought of her denying him, not after their mother had denied him by throwing him over a bridge. No, it would be okay. Rogue would accept him. She'd come to New York and he'd take care of her. They'd find whatever kind of teacher she needed and she wouldn't be alone anymore.

His thoughts were interrupted by Remy stopping in front of a door at the end of the hall. Music could be heard coming through the wall, and Kurt thought he recognized it as some singer named Pink that Kitty and some of the other girls at the Institute listened to.

"Hmm...Rogue must be in a good mood. No Manson today." Remy said, and banged on the door to be heard over the music.

_My sister listens to Marilyn Manson??_

"COME IN!" called a voice from within.

Remy opened the door and stepped aside to let Ororo and Kurt in. He moved away from the door and stopped, looking at the occupant of the room. She was curled up on the bed, a book in her lap which she continued to read even as they came in, her fingers skimming over what he knew were raised dots on the page. She was a beautiful girl; her auburn and white hair framed her fair skin becomingly. Kurt thought she must have been adorable when she was little. _Damn you Destiny..._

When Remy closed the door she turned her head in their direction and Kurt could see her empty green eyes. Such pretty things to be so lifeless. She frowned and her fingers paused on the page. Then she reached beside her and turned the music down with a remote.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Hello _chere._" Remy said. "We're back to see you again."

Rogue visibly relaxed. "What are you doing here Remy? I thought Ororo had to leave this morning"

"I was going to leave," Ororo said "but someone here decided he couldn't wait to see you and surprised us by coming down early."

If anything, Kurt thought his sister's face got even paler as a look of shock came over her. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

"What are you..." she asked finally. "Remy?" and he frowned as the other man crossed the room to sit on the bed near her. "Is that...?"

"_Oui" _he said and glanced at Kurt with a look that said _Say something, you idiot_

"Hi," was all Kurt could manage, and he kicked himself for being so tongue-tied. "I'm Kurt. It's good to meet you."

"Hi." she said faintly, and a little color came back to her face, but not much. She reached unerringly reached towards the bedside table and grabbed a pair of black gloves that were lying there. After putting them on she extended her hand. Kurt wondered at that but then remembered her mutation.

"It's good to meet you too." she said.

Kurt walked across the room and took her hand. Clasping it between both of his, he just held it for a moment. Rogue flinched but then relaxed. _She must not be used to people touching her, _he thought to himself. Finally he laughed nervously and released her hand.

"I thought I'd know what to say when I got here." he said. Rogue smiled faintly.

"Kind of weird, this whole thing, isn't it?" she said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack yesterday when Ororo told me about my mother. _Our_ mother, I mean." she corrected quickly.

"Yeah." Kurt replied, shifting his feet. Why on earth couldn't he think of anything remotely intelligent to say to her?

"So, umm, this looks like a decent place." he said.

Rogue shrugged. "I'll take your word for it." Pushing the book away, she clasped her hands in her lap, gripping them tightly.

Remy frowned and glanced at both of them. Then he leaned over and whispered something in Rogue's ear. She jerked away from him.

"Of course I do." she said furiously. "But you know I can't..."

Remy then surprised Kurt by tracing his finger down Rogue's cheek.

O-o-o-o-O

_"Do you want to see him?"_

Rogue gasped as she felt Remy touch her cheek, and a brief rush of thoughts and images rushed through her. Remy stealing Ororo's fries at the cafe, his anger at the Friends of Humanity rally, kissing Belle in the middle of the sidewalk, and finally a handsome young man standing in front of her, looking nervous and hopeful. She also felt a faint tingle in her hands, one she had felt before, right before she had blown a hole in a cafeteria wall with just a fork.

_Oh Remy you idiot_ she swore at him in her head _I told you not to do that again. _ Hurriedly she clenched her hands together a little tighter and visualized the energy flowing back into her and dissolving, like Remy had shown her how to do the first time he had touched her. She hoped she looked like she was staying calm though; she didn't want to freak her brother out with how dangerous she was on their first meeting. Once she felt comfortable that Remy's stolen kinetic energy was under wraps, she went back over the images he had given her, quickly passing over the ones of Belle before stopping at the very last one.

_I thought his skin was blue? Oh that's right, Ororo said he had something called an image inducer._

Rogue felt terrible that he thought he needed to disguise himself in public. She was also angry that Remy had broken his word and touched her again, but at the same time it was wonderful to see her brother standing in front of her. It made it more real for her; that he really existed and she really wasn't alone anymore.

"Turn it off. I want to see you." she said at last.

"What?" came the German-tinted voice again. Rogue thought he had an adorable accent.

"Ororo said you wear something that hides what you really look like. Turn it off." she said.

"But..." he started, and Rogue thought he sounded even more nervous than ever. Was he worried that she wouldn't like how he looked?

"Turn it _off. _Please." she insisted, and she heard him sigh.

"Okay."

Rogue turned in Remy's direction. "I'm mad that you broke your promise, but now that you've done it you can do it again. Show him to me."

She felt him touch her face and a shiver went through her when she felt his energy again, but when she saw his thoughts again she saw he felt no remorse for having broken his promise. He was glad to do this for her. She was immediately glad too because there in front of her where originally had been a fair-skinned, dark-haired young man was a dark blue-skinned man with yellow eyes and a tail twitching behind him.

She smiled. He was adorable, and she immediately knew that there was no way he could be anyone but her mother's son.

O-o-o-o-O

"You look like her." she said. "She had red hair and you have a tail, but you look like her."

Kurt hadn't realized what Remy had meant to do by touching her until he shuddered when his finger made contact with her cheek. He felt a sharp pang of sorrow that he would never be able to kiss that cheek; never hold her hand without gloves. He was almost glad for her gift though when she smiled. She saw him without the image inducer, and she was _smiling._ She didn't think he was a freak. He was surprised by the comparison to Mystique though. He didn't think that she would ever have seen her.

"You've seen our mother?"

"Yes. I have a picture of her packed away with my things." she said, still smiling. "She's beautiful. I wanted to look like her when I was little."

Kurt envied her; he wished he could have happy thoughts concerning his mother, but then again Rogue didn't know what Raven had been, the terrible things she had done. Could he break her heart by telling her the truth? He didn't know.

"I've seen her too. Professor Xavier has some pictures of her. I never met her though. She...gave me up when I was a baby." he said, not wanting to tell her how their mother had thrown her first child off of a bridge.

Rogue nodded. "I know. Ororo told me." she said, looking a little uncomfortable. Kurt couldn't help but maybe understand why. What was Mystique planning when she got pregnant with Rogue? Would she have kept her second child, or would she have given her up like she did with her first? Kurt liked to think that she would have kept Rogue.

He heard Ororo shift behind him.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but it's such a nice day that it's a shame to stay cooped up in here; besides Rogue and Kurt have so much to talk about. Why don't we all get out for awhile. Remy, can we go back to that park we went to yesterday?" she asked.

"Sure." the young man said, and Kurt thought he looked a little pale. Probably aftereffects from having touched Rogue, he guessed. What was it like to have your thoughts and energy taken out of you? "Is that okay with you, _petite_?"

Rogue closed her book. "Yeah, that sounds good. I've been doing homework all morning anyway and it would be nice to get out." From beside her she took a metal cylinder and extended it into a cane. "Do you mean the same park we went to the other day?" she asked Remy.

"Yep. I promise to keep on the lookout for ducks, too." he grinned, and Rogue groaned.

Kurt raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Ducks?"

If anything, Remy's grin got bigger. "Yeah, she ended up under the flight path of some ducks at the wrong moment."

Rogue scowled. "Did you have to tell him about that, Swamp Rat?", and swatted at him, her hand connecting with his side. Remy just brushed her hand away and laughed.

"Oh come on, I just _had _to." he said. "Siblings need something to tease each other about, don't they?"

Despite the awkwardness of the whole situation, Kurt laughed "Oh man, I can just picture that."

In the meantime his sister flipped Remy off. It was true, he needed ammunition in order to start off a proper brother-sister relationship. His smile faded a bit though when his little sister developed an evil smirk on her face.

"You know what, you're right Remy. Ororo, I'm sure you have a few stories you could tell about my brother, don't you?"

Behind him, his oh-so-beloved girlfriend snickered. "Oh I certainly do."

"Hail Mary, full of grace..." he started muttering to himself. Boy was he in trouble. Apparently Rogue was the mischievous sort. That was a good thing though, right?

Remy laughed. "Sounds like there are a few skeletons in your closet."

"Nope." Ororo said smugly. "Kurt's skeletons don't hide in closets; they dance around proudly out in the open. Dear, why don't you tell your sister about the time you dyed Logan's hair yellow to match his...suit?" she asked, and Kurt caught a slight hesitation where he was sure that she was about to say 'uniform'. As far as he knew, the LeBeau's didn't know about the X-Men; it wasn't information he was about to share either except with Rogue, and that was only if she moved to the Institute. He was sure that Ororo's friends were basically decent people despite their profession, but Professor Xavier wasn't ready to divulge to the outside world who the X-Men were behind their public image; they were still building up their defenses against the war that the Professor wanted to prevent.

"Umm...I thought we were going to the park?" he said finally, not really wanting to tell Rogue about the incident and the revenge that had resulted from it. The singed patches in his fur had finally grown back from the session in the Danger Room that Wolverine had run him through.

Remy just grinned, and Kurt wanted to wipe it off his face. He looked so relaxed, leaning back on his hands near Rogue. They seemed rather close, and he knew it was ridiculous since they had just met, but he envied Remy that closeness and friendship. They would develop it though; he was sure of it. How could she resist the Fuzzy One?

"Yeah, let's go." Remy said, getting up from the bed. "You can torment your brother later. Who's in charge today? I should probably let someone know you're leaving."

"Alison keeps an eye on things on the weekends." Rogue said as she also got up.

"The idea of asking permission didn't occur to you Remy?" Ororo asked.

He just shrugged. "Nah, Candace makes a big song and dance about it, but really she's glad when I get Rogue out of here."

Kurt frowned. "Who's Candace and what's her problem with my sister?" He loved being able to say that. His sister. He felt like a big brother already.

"Candace is the main social worker here." Rogue said with more than a bit of distaste. "She's paranoid and thinks I'm a threat to the other residents. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is go around touching people."

Kurt believed her, having seen her annoyance when Remy had touched her.

"They're allowing this person to be in charge of mutants?" he asked Ororo.

"Unfortunately, anti-mutant sentiments seem to be high in this area." she said. "The powers that be either don't know or don't care. Probably a bit of both. Come on, we can talk on the way to the park." With that she turned around and opened the door to leave the room.

Kurt followed her with a sigh. When the Professor had mentioned that Rogue wasn't a popular person here, he had neglect to include that she was under the care of someone who obviously didn't have the girl's best interests at heart. How could he think that it was okay to leave her here?

Remy led them out of the women's wing and through the past the main entrance to a small office with the door open to the hall. Kurt walked next to Rogue, the sound of her cane a regular tap beside him. He began to wonder how easily she would adapt to the Institute. It could be confusing sometimes with its multiple wings and many hallways; and hectic with the amount of kids running around at any given time of the day. They'd figure something out though, and everyone would be glad to help her along the way.

Just before they reached the office he remembered to turn his image inducer back on. He didn't need to make things more uncomfortable for his sister by having the people here know about another mutant in their presence.

Remy ducked his head into the office. "Hey Alison, a couple of friends and I are going to take Rogue to the park. I'll have her back by dinner time, I promise."

"Oh hi Remy." came the voice of what sounded like an older woman from the office. "I don't think there was anything in the court documents about taking her out on the weekends, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with it. Have a good time."

"Thanks _chere." _ Remy replied with a smile that probably could have charmed a snake. He turned around and headed past them back to the main entrance.

"See? Nothing to it." he said, still smiling. Ororo just shook her head and followed him.

"Is there any woman you can't win over, Remy?"

"Yeah, this one." he said, pointing over to Rogue. "But I'm working on it."

"In your dreams, Swamp Rat." Rogue replied.

Kurt smiled, glad to see that his sister wasn't falling under this guy's spell, like other women apparently did.

Once outside, Rogue folded up her cane and stood outside the car.

"Kurt, why don't you and Rogue sit in the back." Ororo said, opening the front passenger door.

"Okay, thanks _liebes._" he said, and opened the rear door for his sister. She felt for the car and door, then carefully bent and sat inside, but not without bumping her head on the doorway. She muttered something in an annoyed tone while Kurt closed the door and went around to the other side and Remy got into the driver's seat.

"I gotta say I like the bike better, Remy." she said after putting her seatbelt on.

"You ride a motorcycle?" Kurt asked in surprise.

Rogue grinned. "Yeah, Remy usually drives that. I love it, it's like flying."

Kurt sat back against the seat. There was so much he didn't know about her. That was okay, he hoped to have a long time to find out.

"So what else do you two do? What does a companion really do, anyway?"

Remy glanced up into the rear-view mirror. "As far as Candace is concerned, it means keeping Rogue out of her hair. It pretty much means hanging out together and helping her with things when she needs it. So far, she really hasn't needed me for too much though" he said.

Beside him Rogue shrugged. "Remy just keeps me from being bored. He can be amusing when he wants to be."

"True." Ororo said.

"Hey, I happen to be very amusing." Remy protested.

Kurt smirked. "That may or may not be a good thing." he said. "Are they laughing with you or at you?"

"Usually at him." Rogue said.

Remy shook his head slowly. "My family's already corrupted you against me."

"You did some of that on your own." she replied, the emptiness of her eyes a sharp contrast to the mischief in the rest of her expression.

"Ah, so this is what I get for trying to show you a good time, _chere?_" Remy said in a woebegone voice.

"Oh please, don't give me that." Rogue snorted. "Ororo, does he have a big puppy-dog eyes look going on?"

"No, but he does manage to look very pitiful and long-suffering."

"I could do puppy-dog eyes if I thought it could work." Remy offered helpfully.

"Even if I could see, they'd be wasted." Rogue said.

"Better watch out _M'sieur_ Wagner; your sister's a mean woman." Remy said.

"You sure it's not you egging her on?" Kurt asked.

"Me? I just keep things interesting for her. She was dying of boredom before she met me." Remy said innocently.

Rogue muttered something under her breath that Kurt was pretty sure wasn't polite.

They pulled into the park a few minutes later. Kurt got out of the car, planning on opening the door for his sister, but Remy beat him to it. Outside of the car, Rogue unfolded her cane.

"Left, and ten steps before you hit the grass." Remy said quietly, getting out of her way.

Kurt watched the two of them walk out of the parking area for a moment before following, Ororo beside him. It was a quiet, pretty place; he could see the pond a little ways away where floated a few of Rogue's feathered adversaries. There was a bench near the pond, and after murmuring something in Rogue's ear, that seemed to be where Remy was leading them. They stopped at the bench, Kurt and Ororo catching up a minute later.

"Why don't the two of you take a walk, start catching up, hmm?" Remy said. "Ororo and I'll play guard duty; there's a few shifty-looking hooligans there on the pond."

"Shut up Swamp Rat." Rogue growled, and tried to swat him, but Remy jumped out of the way. "You're never going to let me forget about that, are you?"

"Nope." Remy replied cheekily, popping the 'p' in the word.

Rogue turned her head in his direction and stuck out her tongue.

"Don't stick it out unless you plan to use it." Remy replied in a sly voice.

Rogue turned pink. "Come on, let's get away from this moron." she said to Kurt.

Kurt started to take her arm to guide her, but when he touched her she moved away.

"It's okay, I don't need help." she said. "Remy is there a path?"

Kurt wondered why she hadn't bothered to ask him rather than the Cajun, but then figured it was probably habit.

"_Oui_, about four or five steps forward, then either left or right." Remy replied. "I'd go left though if I were you, _petite_; it heads away from the pond."

Rogue made a face. "You're really asking for it." she said, and walking over to the cement path, turned right.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" he called out after her. "I'm not washing your hair again."

Rogue just walked away, and Kurt went over to join her. Meanwhile, Remy and Ororo started off in the other direction; Kurt saw him pull out a pack of cigarettes before losing sight of them.

"I wish you'd stop that." was the last thing he heard his girlfriend say.

"Remy washed your _hair_?" Kurt asked after he had caught up with his sister.

"Yeah." she said, making a face. "It was either that or explain to Candace why I had bird crap in it."

"So she didn't know you had gone out?"

"Not at first. She eventually discovered I was gone though, and Remy nearly caught hell for it."

She fell silent then, and Kurt wondered how she managed to stay on the path. Then he noticed she stayed near the edge, with her cane hitting concrete to one side of her, and grass on the other. He was impressed with her self-sufficiency; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to do as well.

Kurt racked his mind for something to say. It was weird meeting a total stranger and being told they were family. He wasn't even sure if they had anything in common. So far, he doubted music was one of them. He wasn't really a fan of Marilyn Manson.

"I'm not usually this quiet." he said finally. "It's just, well..."

"Yeah, I know." Rogue replied in an uncomfortable tone. "It's weird. I thought I'd be so happy to meet a member of my family...and I am, really." she continued hurriedly. "It's just that I'm not sure what happens now, you know?"

Kurt understood, he was feeling the same way. Rogue seemed like a good person so far, and he was glad to have been able to come here; but, how do you start up a conversation with someone related to you by blood, but at the same time is a stranger to you? How do you get to know each other?

"Did...Irene ever tell you anything about our mother?" he asked, deciding to start with what was so far the one and only thing they had in common.

Rogue shrugged. "Not really. She told me that her name was Raven. For some reason Irene said it was important that I keep the name Darkholme; now I'm wondering if maybe this was why."

"So that if you ever ran into a member of your family they'd know who you are." Kurt said, understanding. He paused a moment, feeling uncomfortable asking this, but he just had to know. "Rogue, what happened to our mother?"

He glanced over at his sister and saw a look of pain cross her face.

"...Irene said that it was a difficult pregnancy." Rogue said quietly. "She couldn't go to a doctor because of her being a mutant. Irene thinks that when she was in...labor with me," her voice stumbled over the words, "that something tore inside because she started bleeding and never stopped. The midwife couldn't do anything to help, so she just...bled to death in her bed. She asked Irene to take care of me before she died."

By the time Rogue finished she looked absolutely miserable, and Kurt was feeling sorry that he had asked. He had needed to know though, and while it didn't seem to bring all that closure business that people were always talking about, now he knew and he could stop wondering.

"I'm sorry" he said quietly.

"Thanks." she replied. "I was okay though. I love Irene; she was the only mother I've ever had, and we were happy. We lived in a little house in Mississippi and I had a nice, normal childhood, even after the car accident. I just wish I could have known my birth mother. I'm sorry that you didn't get to know her either."

"It's okay." Kurt said. Knowing the truth about Mystique, he knew that he was better off with how things had happened. "I was adopted by a Gypsy couple, who've loved me like I was their own flesh and blood."

"Gypsies? You're kidding" Rogue asked, sounding intrigued.

"Nope." Kurt said, a little smile cracking across his face. "I was even in the circus for awhile. They called me 'The Amazing Nightcrawler'. I was one of the best acrobats they'd ever had."

Rogue smiled at this, and he was glad to see it.

"My brother the circus star." she said, and gave a laugh. "So how did you end up in New York?"

"One of the villages near where we were set up got bitten by the anti-mutant bug; well, actually they thought I was a demon." Kurt said. "They were coming after me when Professor Xavier rescued me. My parents thought it would be a good idea if I came here to the U.S., and I'm glad I did. I miss my parents, but I've learned so much, and everyone at the Institute has become my second family." _And now I have new family_ he thought to himself.

"That's good." Rogue said. "I'm glad things were okay for you."

Kurt could tell though, that she was wishing things had worked out as well for her.

"So...Ororo told you about the Institute?" he asked, deciding to see what her thoughts were on the subject, and hoping she'd give him the opportunity to make things work out for her as well. She deserved to be happy.

"A little bit." Rogue replied. "She said it was a private school for mutants. Is it very big?"

"No, not really. With the way some of the kids act sometimes it makes you think so though." Kurt smiled, thinking of some the more rambunctious students' antics.

"Gets a little crazy, huh?"

"Yeah. Everyone's great there though. You'd like them." Kurt said. "You've never really met many other mutants, have you?"

Rogue shook her head and followed a turn that the path took. "No, just Remy and Irene. What kinds of powers do people develop, anyway? I know Irene was able to see the future, my mother was a shape-shifter, and Remy blows things up, but what about some of the others?"

Kurt stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Well, I can teleport, and Ororo can control the weather. Professor Xavier is a telepath; probably the most powerful one in the world..."

"You mean he can get into people's heads." Rogue interrupted in an awestruck voice. "Isn't that kind of creepy?"

"I thought so at first, but he doesn't believe in going into other peoples' minds without their permission, unless he really needs your attention." Kurt said, thinking of his interrupted game yesterday. "He values the privacy of others."

"Wow, that would still be weird." she said. "So people can just pop up any kind of power?"

"Pretty much." Kurt said. "We've seen all kinds of mutations."

"But how do people control it?" she asked. "How do they manage not to hurt people?"

"Well, the Professor helps us a lot with that. He managed to get the image inducer made for me; my friend Scott has an ability where he produces a kind of blast from his eyes. He can't control it so the Professor had special glasses made for him. Some of the other students he's helped with mental control of their abilities."

Rogue was quiet for a moment, and Kurt thought he could guess what she was thinking.

"Do...do you think he could maybe help me?" she asked finally.

"I don't know." Kurt replied honestly. "What do you know about your mutation?"

Rogue shrugged. "I just know that when I touch people, I get their thoughts, memories and life force. After Remy touched me the first time I discovered I get mutant powers as well."

Kurt frowned "How many times has he touched you? Did he hurt you?"

"Just the once before today. He didn't mean to hurt me, he was just being stupid. Thankfully his power went away after awhile, but a little piece of everyone I touch gets stuck in my head. There were a few times when I first started living in the home where I touched people by accident. I can still feel them in my head, kind of whispering in the background. Gets annoying" she said.

"And now he's in your head again." Kurt said.

"Yeah, but it wasn't so bad this time." Rogue said. "It was a very light touch, and I didn't see very much, other than you."

Again, he couldn't help but be glad for that. He liked being able to know that Rogue could see and accept him for what he was.

"So, I understand you don't have to live here too much longer." Kurt said, kicking a stone into the grass as he walked. "Less than a year in fact." he paused. "When is your birthday, anyway?"

"November." she replied. "so a little less than six months. Seems like forever sometimes."

"You don't _have _to stay here, you know." Kurt said. "Ororo said that she had invited you to the Institute. Professor Xavier could become your guardian until you're eighteen. And maybe if the state knew you had family up there it might help."

"It _does_ sound nice." Rogue said hesitantly. "You said it got pretty crazy up there though. All those mutant kids running around. Absorbing the people here was bad enough; I don't know how I'd be able to handle accidentally touching a bunch of other mutants. And New York's so far away, doesn't it get really cold up there?"

Kurt frowned. He thought she would have jumped at the chance to leave here. Then again, it was a really big step.

"Far away from what, Rogue? You don't have anything here to leave behind. The people in the home obviously don't want you there, and your social worker has gone as far to bring in a convicted criminal to keep you away from her."

"Mercy, Emil and the rest of Remy's family have been great." she said with a defensive tone to her voice. "We're becoming friends already. And Remy's actually been okay too, when he stops acting like a swamp rat. And my new teacher, Martine, is really good. They all treat me like a normal person, not like some freak because of my powers, and they don't pity me because of my eyes. Yeah, Candace is a bitch, but...I do have something here." she said, something in her tone sounding like she was realizing something she hadn't before.

"But it would be so much better for you with us." Kurt said, trying to persuade her. "You'd be with other mutants; no one would think you're a freak or pity you. The Professor can find the best teacher anywhere for you, and try to help you with your mutation. And you'd be with your family."

"You talk about family, Kurt, but I don't know you; I don't know anything about you or this place that you want me to just up and move to." Rogue said in a pained voice. "I've thought I was alone ever since Irene died. But I'm finally making friends here, and now you want me to leave that and move to another part of the country to live with a bunch of strangers."

Kurt was anxious and confused. He hadn't expected it to be like this. "You'd be happy there Rogue. Let me show you." he said, taking her arm, wanting to share his world with her through his eyes.

She jerked away from him though. "Don't you touch me Kurt." she said, panic in her voice. "You can't touch me; you can't!"

"Why not? Remy did." he said, feeling hurt that she would let that thief touch her but not her own brother.

"Don't you understand?" she pleaded. "We'll hurt each other, and I don't want to do that."

"But Remy..."

"Remy was different. Your powers are different. Yeah, it was scary with Remy, he can blow things up; I ended up blowing a hole in the cafeteria wall after I absorbed him. He was able to help me though; he showed me how to control it so I was able to stop it until it went away. But you're different, Kurt. You _teleport_. How would I be able to handle something like that? Where would I send myself? Do you know how far you can travel like that? I assume you have to see where you're going but I've never seen New Orleans; I haven't seen anything since I was ten years old in Mississippi. Would you be able to find me, be able to keep track of me and help me stop it?" she stopped a moment, catching her breath. "And what about these other mutants? You said it gets crazy up there. What about your friend Scott? What would happen if I touched him? Accidents happen. Do you want your sister blowing holes in that school of yours, possibly hurting other people? I can't control what I am and I can't see what I'm doing. Do you and your professor want someone as dangerous as I am in your home?" she finished angrily. She was gripping the handle of her cane tightly and Kurt was startled to see that it was turning pink.

"Rogue...your cane..." he said nervously.

"What?..." she said, then seemed to realize what he was talking about. "Merde." she swore in what was suddenly an almost perfect Cajun accent. She tensed up, and after a moment or two the cane gradually went back to its original color. With a sigh she finally relaxed.

"What was that?" Kurt asked, dumbfounded.

"That was Remy's power." Rogue said, her voice back to normal. "I got it when he touched me. You see, Kurt? _That's_ why you can't touch me."

"Rogue..." Kurt said, at a loss for what to say. He could see the truth in what she said, especially now that he'd had a visual demonstration, but he still felt that the Institute would be the best place for her, he just didn't know how to convince her of that.

"Rogue, I'm sorry." he said finally. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just see you in a bad situation and I want to help."

His sister drew a breath for a moment, then released it slowly. "I know, Kurt." she said quietly. "You wanted to help. I understand that. And maybe this Institute place would be good for me. But not yet. I want to talk to your Professor first, see if he thinks we'd all be safe with me up there, and if maybe he could help me control my mutation. And...I want to get to know you better." she said, her tone turning shy. "I had to face New Orleans on my own after Irene died. If I make such a big change again I want to know that I've got a friend at the other end waiting for me."

"Okay." Kurt said, biting his lip. If she wanted to wait he could do that. He was impatient sometimes, but he wanted his sister to be a part of his life and he didn't want to mess that up by trying to push her into a decision right away.

"It'll be okay Kurt." she said as they came around the other side of the pond. He could see Ororo and Remy sitting on the bench waiting for them.

"I think...I think Remy would try to help me if something happened." Rogue said hesitantly. "He's already been dumb enough to risk getting in trouble to do that."

Kurt noticed she didn't look too happy about that. So the thief could be a good guy. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she had someone watching out for her. He still thought she'd be safer with the X-men though. But in the meantime...

"Since you asked, I can travel about 2-3 miles in pretty much any direction, and can only go to places I can see or have seen in the past, so I don't know if you'd end up going anywhere if you absorbed me, since you've never seen New Orleans."

"Well, that's kind of not true, in a way." Rogue said. "I've seen it through Remy's eyes, from his memories when I've absorbed him. I'm not sure if that counts, but I'd still rather not find out the hard way. Please don't ever try to do that again Kurt."

"I'm sorry Rogue," Kurt sighed. "I won't do it again."

Remy apparently noticed her unhappiness because when they approached the bench he immediately got up.

"You okay, _petite_?" he asked with concern in his voice. "Looked like you two were arguing from over here." he continued, glaring at Kurt with those hellfire eyes that gave the look a malevolent edge.

Rogue shook her head. "It's okay Remy, we just had to clear a few things up. I'm not going to the Institute; at least not yet. I want to talk to this Professor of theirs first, and get to know my brother a little better. Do you think you could come back down to visit some time, Kurt?" she asked hopefully.

Kurt brightened. He hoped that with the more time they spent together, the better the chance that he could convince her to come to New York.

"Of course!" he said. "I can come back down next weekend, if you want."

Rogue smiled. "I'd like that."

"Why don't we get out of the sun for a little while?" Ororo said, looking up at the sky. "There's a nice tree over there with plenty of shade."

"It's our tree." Remy said in a half-whisper to Rogue.

"So what?" she asked. "You gonna start snoring again, Swamp Rat?"

"I do not snore." Remy protested, taking Rogue's arm. Kurt was surprised to see that she let him. Then again, she had absorbed him a couple of times now; perhaps having him in her head allowed her to relax around him a little? He hoped to have her feel that familiarity with him eventually; preferably without her having absorbed him of course. That really was stupid of him to have tried that; especially right after her having told him about what absorbing others does to her.

Wait a minute, how did she know that he snored?

"Oh please, the ducks probably heard you." Rogue said as they walked over to the tree.

"You know, you two sound like an old married couple sometimes." Ororo grinned as she followed them, Kurt at her side.

"You've gotta be kidding." Rogue said sarcastically. When they reached the tree, Remy murmured something in her ear before releasing her arm from his. She then proceeded to plop down onto the ground and stretch out on the grass. "I'd have to be desperate to marry this guy. I don't know what his girlfriend sees in him."

"It's your loss that you can't, _chere." _Remy smirked as he joined her a few feet away. Kurt took a seat on the ground and watched his sister strip off her gloves to run her fingers through the soft grass.

"I count that a blessing." was her smug reply.

"Fight nice children." Ororo commented. She sat down next to Kurt and he stretched out to lay his head in her lap.

"Tell _him_ that, Ororo." Rogue said. "He's the one living in denial about his little habit."

"That's not the Nile, Rogue, it's the Mississippi. I can understand if it's hard to tell the difference." Remy commented dryly.

"Har de har har."

"Umm...Rogue, how do you know that Remy snores?" Kurt asked in a worried voice. Yes, Remy was engaged and his sister's mutation didn't allow intimacy of that sort, but still, Remy seemed like the kind of guy who had a good imagination and Kurt didn't want him using his position as companion to try and take advantage of her.

Remy laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know, _m'sieur_? Getting protective already, aren't you?"

Kurt was about to protest about his right to be concerned, but his sister interrupted him.

"Don't listen to him Kurt. He just wants to get you going." Rogue said scornfully. "The last time we were here we both ended up napping under this tree. He just happened to fall asleep first, and I could hear him snore."

"You're imagining things, _chere_. Must have been an animal." Remy said.

"Yeah, a small animal being tortured, maybe."

"You see how your sister is, Kurt?" Remy asked, looking over at him with a wounded expression from his position beneath the tree. "Always ready to think the worst of me."

"I'll wait 'til after I've heard you snore to pass judgment." Kurt replied and relaxed a little; maybe he was overreacting. Rogue didn't seem like she was letting him get away with much. Then he turned his head away from Remy to enjoy the much more pleasant scenery of the blue sky and his girlfriend's face. That face now looked down at him with amusement.

"You're almost as bad as he is." she said.

"How can you possibly compare me to him?" Kurt asked, pretending to be offended.

"Hmph. I think I'm the one who should be offended." Remy said indignantly. "I have much more style than Blueboy over there."

"I don't know," Rogue said slyly. "I rather like the tail. Do _you_ have a tail, Swamp Rat?"

Kurt grinned, happy both that his sister was teasing the Cajun on his behalf, and that she liked his tail.

"Haven't you seen him, Rogue?" he asked curiously. "You've absorbed him, I would think you would've seen any visions of himself."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Rogue mused. "Especially considering how much time he probably spends looking in the mirror. But no, I haven't had that dubious pleasure."

"I don't have to look in the mirror, _chere._" Remy said smugly. "I know how good I look."

"Oh brother." was Rogue's only reply.

Kurt was distracted from any answer he would have made by the feeling of Ororo's fingers running through his hair. His mind tuned out the insults that now flowed back and forth between Remy and his sister, and closed his eyes in pleasure. This truly was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, he was in a beautiful city relaxing in his girlfriend's arms and had a new relationship to begin with his sister. Rogue was a wonderful girl with a good sense of humor, and he was looking forward to getting to know her better. Yes, the part about her remaining here in New Orleans was disappointing, but he knew he'd be able to persuade her eventually to come home with him.

A shriek of laughter pulled him out of his reverie. Opening his eyes, he looked over to the tree and saw that Remy had grabbed Rogue's cane and now was poking her gently in the side with it. Kurt grinned as apparently she was ticklish. He imagined that no one had probably done anything like that to her in a long time. She got up and tried to move away from him.

"I...I'm so gonna kill you for that!" she said, trying to get her breath back.

"Nah, you like me too much to do that." Remy grinned.

"That's what you think, Cajun." she replied. "Hey Kurt, can you do me a favor and perform your first action as big brother by getting my cane back, please?"

Kurt saw that her gloves were still off and guessed that she didn't want to try and grab the cane back herself.

"Of course, _liebes._" he said, then got up and _bamfed_ over to where Remy stood. He grinned at the look of surprise on the other man's face and stuck his tongue out before he quickly snatched the cane away and _bamfed_ to Rogue's side. He placed the cane in her hand and moved away from her.

Rogue made a face. "Oh gawd, what's that smell?"

"Sorry. When I teleport it leaves a smell behind." Kurt said with a sheepish smile.

"Smells like rotten eggs." she replied in distaste.

"Yeah, but there's no better way to travel." he said smugly.

"Pretty sneaky." Remy said, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"You better believe it." Kurt grinned.

"I feel like I'm babysitting." Ororo said. She remained sitting where she was, and was looking at them with a look of amusement on her face.

"That don't say much about your taste in men, does it _chere_?" Remy asked.

"He's a lot more mature than you are, Remy LeBeau." Ororo said.

"Doesn't seem to take much." Rogue commented, and leaned down to find her gloves.

"Take two steps forward, they'll be just a little to your left." Remy said quietly, watching her.

Kurt hadn't been sure whether to say anything or not; it was hard to tell when she needed assistance and when she didn't. Remy didn't seem to have any problem figuring it out though; Kurt had to give him credit for that.

"Thanks." she said, and finding them, slipped them back onto her hands. "That doesn't mean I still won't get you later though."

"Didn't think it would" Remy said with resignation. He then glanced at Kurt. "Is there anything you wanted to do while you're down here today?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know; it was kind of a last minute decision to come down here." He looked over at Ororo guiltily. "I didn't really talk Scott into letting me fly down here, I kinda snuck off while he was busy talking to Jean about something."

Ororo rolled her eyes. "Oh boy. Don't expect me to help you when he starts lecturing you tonight."

Remy smirked. "So Blueboy's also a bad boy, hmm?"

"Don't call me Blueboy, _Swamp Rat._" Kurt said.

"_Non, non_, that's Rogue's nickname for me, nobody else's. Right Roguey?" Remy said, grinning at Rogue even though she couldn't see it.

She glared in his general direction. "I'll start calling you something else if you call me Roguey again."

"I don't know, Rogue. You sure you want to stay down here with this guy?" Kurt asked musingly. "All he seems to do is try to start trouble."

"_MOI?! _Start trouble?" Remy asked, the wounded, long suffering look on his face. "Don't be acting so innocent,_ petite._ You're the one who almost got me arrested the day we met."

"What?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"Oh yes. We were taking a walk, and she starts pulling the old 'poor helpless blind girl' routine, shouting out about how I stole her cane." Remy said.

"Well you _did_ steal my cane." Rogue said calmly.

"_That_ was only 'cause you were whacking me in the leg with it" Remy replied indignantly. "Don't piss your sister off, _m'seiur_." he said to Kurt. "I don't know what that thing's made of, but it leaves a hell of a bruise."

"I do that with all my companions when I first meet them." Rogue said. "It kinda helps them decide if they want to hang out with me or not."

Remy snorted. "Lucky for you I didn't have a choice in the matter, hmm?"

"The jury's still out on that, Swamp Rat. We're not through your 30 day trial period yet" Rogue smirked.

"30 day trial period?" Kurt asked, still in confusion. These two were something else. One minute he's being all solicitous and helpful, and she lets him closer than she lets anyone else; the next minute they're putting each other down like crazy.

"Yeah, she agreed to leave me alone for a month until she decides if she wants to be nice to me or not." Remy said, rolling his eyes.

From what Kurt had seen so far today, he figured Rogue must have decided already about the outcome of the trial period, and that Remy knew it; but they seemed to enjoy their little game too much to admit it.

"_ANYWAY,_" Ororo said, finally joining the group. "As amusing as watching the two of you squabble is, we've only got a few more hours before Kurt and I need to start the trip home, and I'm sure he doesn't want to spend the day here at the park, do you Kurt?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Well...I would like to see some of the city before we go." Kurt admitted. "And have some of that spicy food everyone's always going on about."

"Sure." Remy said. "We could show you around downtown for awhile before lunch, maybe find a good street corner band or two to listen to. Sound good?"

"_Ja._" Kurt grinned, purposefully thickening his German accent.

"What about you, Rogue?" Remy asked.

"Works for me." she replied. "Definitely beats doing homework."

"You're still doing homework?" Remy asked with a bit of surprise.

"Well I'd be done already if _somebody_ didn't keep coming over and distracting me." she said.

"Remy LeBeau, if you two don't start walking towards that car I'm going to hot wire it and take Kurt downtown. We'll just leave you here." Ororo said, and started heading for the parking lot.

"She'd do it, too." Remy told Kurt, then bent towards Rogue. This time Kurt was close enough to hear him as he gave her directions on how to reach the car. He thought it was very considerate of the other man to discretely help his sister. He would have to pay closer attention to Remy, to better learn what Rogue did and didn't need.

It obviously helped, as Rogue had very little trouble reaching the car on her own. He sat in the back seat with her again, and Remy entertained them during the drive with some of the wilder stories from the city's past. It was quite the colorful place and it was obvious to Kurt that Remy was very much in love with his home.

After finding a parking spot downtown, they started wandering. Remy and Rogue walked in front; Remy to lead the way, and Rogue to keep her cane out of the way of the others. Ororo asked to stop at one of the tourist shops, where she picked up some of the traditional brightly colored Mardi Gras beads for Jean, and chicory coffee for Dr. McCoy. Kurt grinned when she bought the beads; he figured that was the only way Jean would ever get some, as he could never picture her obtaining them the usual way. She was too conservative, and Scott would have a fit. They then stopped at an herbalist's, where she picked up special tea blends for herself and Professor Xavier.

Lunch was picked up at an outdoor vendor. Kurt selected a shrimp p'boy sandwich, then joked after paying for it that the boy couldn't be that poor with the prices they charged.

They all sat together on a wall near a fountain and listened to a jazz band play. Kurt just sat, ate his sandwich, and took it all in. People passed him in a rainbow of colors, and bits of conversation in at least a dozen different languages were could be heard. Delightful smells of food mixed with the less pleasant traces of car exhaust and trash from the garbage dumpster nearby. Kurt could see why Remy loved it here. Rogue didn't seem incredibly attached to New Orleans so far, but what if she did? Especially after having repeatedly absorbed Remy, could she come to love it enough that she wouldn't want to leave? The thought lessened Kurt's enjoyment of the city he was in.

O-o-o-o-O

After lunch the four of them continued to wander downtown. Rogue continued to walk beside Remy, half listening to the sound of her cane on the pavement, half listening to Ororo and Kurt chat behind her. She liked listening to him talk; the German accent was cool. And he liked to joke and tease, picking on Ororo almost as much as he did her and Remy. Remy did get the brunt of it though. Rogue wasn't quite sure what was up with that, why there was a tinge of rivalry to their attitudes, but she figured it was probably some dumb male thing and let it slide. So far though, she liked her brother and was already looking forward to having him visit again. Yes, he'd had that moment of stupidity at the park where he had tried to touch her, but she thought he just hadn't really understood the effects of her mutation. After seeing her nearly blow up her cane, though, she was pretty sure he now understood. Although she had to admit she was curious as to whether her cane actually would have blown up; Irene had said the material it was made of, adamantium, was indestructible. So many things that Irene had had her do or had kept secret from her; perhaps now that Rogue had found people that had known her foster mother outside of the little world Irene had created for her in Mississippi she could find out the answers to some of these things. Like what her mother had been like, why Irene had insisted that she keep her mother's last name, who had given her this cane and why its material had to be kept secret, why Irene had always been concerned that Rogue know how to defend herself, maybe even who her father was. Some things she may never truly know though, like why Irene had found it necessary to cut the two of them off from the people who had known her mother. It frustrated her that the only person who would have known this was dead, but there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do now was be thankful that she truly alone in the world after all, and build a relationship with her family.

A familiar sound drew her out of her thoughts and she smiled, wondering how her brother would like what they were hearing.

"An accordion? I thought that was just used in polkas." Kurt said. "And...is that a washboard?"

Remy laughed. "That's zydeco, _m'sieur _Fuzzball."

Rogue smiled. "I hear it sometimes on the radio. I think it's kinda cool."

"This from the girl who listens to Marilyn Manson and the Swedish Chef?" Remy asked in amusement.

"That's Bjork, you dork." Rogue smirked at her joke.

"It_ is_ rather funky." Kurt admitted. "Makes you want to dance."

"We'll have to come back down when we can stay a little longer." Ororo said. "This is played at the dance halls."

"We'll have to teach these two how to do the two-step, eh Ororo?" Remy said.

"I haven't danced in years, Swamp Rat; I'd probably trip over my own feet and my partner's." Rogue said. The truth was she hadn't danced since the school Valentine's Day and Halloween parties before her accident, and she wasn't sure how to manage it without bumping into people on the dance floor.

"Nah, I'd teach you real well." Remy said. "Why don't we do that? Next time your _frere _ is down, we'll go dancing."

"Remy, in case you've forgotten, I have to be back at the home by dinnertime." Rogue said, rolling her empty eyes. "Do the dance halls open that early?"

"No, but we'll tell the bureaucratic rat that Mercy wants you to stay for a sleepover." Remy said, as if it were a perfectly reasonable idea and Candace wouldn't have a snit about it.

"I'd love to see you pull _that_ off." Rogue muttered.

"So much faith, _chere._" Remy said, and Rogue could hear the grin in his voice. "You're still not trusting me."

There it was again, trust. Rogue wondered why he seemed to find it so important. Was it the fact that his fiancee's jealousy seemed to imply that she no longer trusted him? So far Rogue was learning that he could be trusted, in fact he was turning out to be the first person she could trust since Irene's death; she just found herself unable to admit it to him.

"You're still in your trial period, Swamp Rat." she said out loud, but without as much teasing in her voice as she could have put in it.

"You'll figure it out one of these days." he said confidently.

"Whatever you say." Rogue replied sarcastically.

"Of course Good to see you're finally catching on."

"Why don't we leave these two lovebirds alone for awhile, Kurt." Ororo teased. "I want to show you that cathedral down the street. The organ is over one hundred years old and still plays beautifully. Remy, Rogue, do you mind if Kurt and I abandon you for a little while?"

"_Non, chere_, you two go ahead. I'm sure Roguey and I can find some way to amuse ourselves." Remy said, and Rogue restrained herself from smacking him for using that nickname. She really needed to curb these violent tendencies of hers.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" she demanded.

"He just wants to get you riled up." Ororo said. "You shouldn't let him win by reacting like that; it's what he wants."

"Fine." Rogue grumbled, then relaxed. "Go have fun at your church; I just can't promise he'll be in one piece when you get back."

"Okay. We'll see you in a little while." Kurt said. "So, _liebchen_, you want to walk or take the express route?"

"Let's walk, Kurt." Ororo said. "There's a stronger anti-mutant presence here than there is in New York."

Rogue could hear their voices fade as they walked away from her and Remy. "So, what's worth checking out over here?" she asked.

"Well, there's a used book store, and across the street there's an adult toy shop, but I'm guessing you probably wouldn't like that." Remy teased, and Rogue felt her cheeks turn red as it didn't take much imagination to guess what kinds of things were for sale there.

"Ah, there's that blush." Remy said. "Looks so cute on you."

"Oh, stop it." Rogue muttered. "What else is around?"

"Well there's a fortune teller at the end of the block. Wanna get your fortune told?" Remy asked.

"My foster mother could see the future, Remy. It's not that interesting." she said.

"Well I think _I'd_ like to find out my future. Come on." Remy said, and took her hand.

"Fine." Rogue grumbled, and let him lead her to the fortune teller's shop.

Chimes sounded over her head and the smell of incense hit her nose as they entered the shop.

"Welcome children, welcome." a thickly accented Cajun voice said. "I'm Tante Celeste; would you like to see your futures?"

"_Merci beaucoup, Tante._" Remy said politely. "I'd like that, but my friend here doesn't seem to want to."

"Ah, your _petite amie_ is a doubter, hmm?" the fortune teller asked in amusement.

Rogue started to protest that she wasn't his girlfriend, but decided she didn't feel like causing a scene.

"I just doubt there's that much to see." she said.

"You never can tell, girl, you never can tell." Tante Celeste said. "The tea leaves often have things to say that weren't expected."

"Come on Rogue." Remy teased "Give it a try. Or are you _un petite poulet_?"

"I am not a chicken, Swamp Rat." Rogue said defiantly. "Fine, I'll try those tea leaves." She knew she shouldn't be letting him goad her like this, but to be honest she was a little curious about the future. Then again it was probably just a scam anyway, and it wouldn't hurt to hear what the woman had to say.

"Good, good." the fortune teller said, and Rogue could hear her move around the shop. "Come, sit down, be comfortable. I will make the tea."

Rogue walked with Remy into the shop, and he led her to a chair. As they sat, Rogue could hear various clicks and clanks as the woman made tea.

"This stuff doesn't really work, does it Remy?" she asked quietly.

"Who knows?" Remy said. "There are supposedly women here who have a gift, as people with our own gifts, we're hardly in a position to say what does and doesn't exist. Besides, could be fun."

A few minutes later the fortune teller came over to them. "Here you are, child, right next to your right hand." she said. Rogue put her hand out tentatively and found the cup.

"Now go ahead and drink the tea." Tante Celeste said. "Not all the down though. Try not to drink the leaves."

Rogue took a sip of the tea, and found it to be a fruit tea with a trace of bitterness to it. Trying to avoid the leaves, she drank it to what she estimated was probably halfway down.

"Good." Tante Celeste said, and gently took the cup away from her. "Now I pour off the rest, and see what the leaves have to say."

Rogue waited until the scrape of what was probably chair across the floor indicated that the woman was sitting down. A minute or so later, she spoke.

"It's been a lonely road, child," she said, "and you've been worried about your future. But sometimes it's the past that needs the worry more." the fortune teller's voice grew more serious. "The past's gonna be coming to find you, and trouble's coming on its heels. You stay close to your _petite amie_, boy." she said sternly to Remy.

"_Oui, _ I promise._"_ Remy said, sounding confused. Rogue couldn't blame him; she was confused too. The past is coming to find her? Her past was dead, it died with Irene, and nothing remained of the world she had before New Orleans, so how could it be coming to find her now?

The chair creaked again, and Rogue guessed that the fortune teller was preparing Remy's tea. She brought it over a minute later, and after Remy drank it Rogue heard her sit down.

"I know who you are, boy." she said. "You're the golden child of your family, and best at what you do. The prince of thieves has a heart of gold though, and no good deed goes unpunished. You're gonna do what's right, and it's gonna hurt you for it."

"Don't those leaves have anything good to say?" Remy asked in frustration.

"_Oui_. May seem like forever, but there will be a light at the end of that tunnel." Tante Celeste said consolingly.

"With our luck it's probably an oncoming train." Rogue muttered.

"So negative." Tante Celeste chided her.

"Well you haven't given either of us any reason to be otherwise." Remy said.

"You pay to hear the future. Ain't no guarantee that it's gonna be good or bad, just the truth." the fortune teller replied.

"Sometimes it's best not to know what's ahead." Rogue said quietly. "It's something Irene used to say."

"That's a wise woman." Tante Celeste said. "But even wise women have to eat, and people love to hear their futures, so what's the harm, hmm?"

"I suppose." Remy said. "What do I owe you?"

The fortune teller quoted him a price and while he was paying her, Rogue got up and fiddled with her cane. When he was done Remy took her arm and they left the shop. Once outside he let go and Rogue took a deep breath, glad to be away from the smell of that incense.

"You never mind her, Rogue." he said. "She's just some two-bit carnival act. Doesn't know what she's talking about."

Rogue wondered which one of them he was trying to make feel better. They had both been given pretty unnerving predictions, but his had been more direct in stating he would be hurt, hers just predicted trouble.

"I don't know, Remy." she said, worry creeping into her tone. "That didn't sound like the usual carnival crap. You're the one who suggested anything was possible; isn't it possible that she actually saw something?"

Remy sighed. "I don't know, _chere_. I don't want to think so, but you're right; that sounded too serious to be the usual junk. It's too vague for there to be anything we can do about it; we'll just have to continue on as usual and hope that she's wrong. _Desole_, Rogue. I shouldn't have talked you into going in there."

Rogue shook her head. "It's okay, I was curious anyway. Should've known better though; it's never a good idea to play with the future."

"Well, it's done and there's not much we can do about it." Remy said. "Come on, let's go find Ororo and Blueboy."

"I'm just waiting for him to get you for calling him that." Rogue said, a smile crossing her face.

Remy snorted. "What's he gonna do, drop me off in Antarctica or something? I can find my way home from pretty much anywhere around here."

"Yeah, but I can just imagine what Emil and Mercy would have to say if you came home smelling like rotten eggs." Rogue grinned and walked with Remy to the cathedral.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy smirked as he and Rogue made their way to the cathedral. He too could imagine the ribbing he'd get from his cousin and sister in law if he came home smelling like that. He'd never hear the end of it.

His smile faded though as the fortune teller's words came back to him. It would be just his luck that he would get punished for doing something good. Despite being told straight out that he was going to be hurt, he was more concerned about Rogue. From what she'd disclosed about herself so far, it didn't sound like she really have much of a past at all, let alone something that could come back to give her trouble. Then again there was so much about Rogue's background that even she didn't know, so anything was possible. If her foster mother was still alive, she'd have a lot to answer for; she may have not intended it, but her secrets so far had done nothing but hurt Rogue.

There was so much they didn't know, about the past or future, but one thing Remy did know was that he would keep his promise to the fortune teller. He'd stay close to Rogue; her situation kept her vulnerable to whatever her past or his future threatened them with, and his position as companion was becoming too serious to him to let her down now.

O-o-o-o-O

AU: I originally intended to put the entire day into one chapter; it was just getting to be too long though.


	23. Sunday part 2

AN

AN: To my everlasting regret, the X-Men are not mine.

O-o-o-o-O

A clear, sweet voice could be heard throughout the cathedral as Remy and Rogue entered, and the fading scent of incense in the air told him that Mass must have ended not too long ago. Looking towards the opposite end of the room, Remy could see a young woman standing in the alcove where the choir usually performed, practicing while an older man played on the organ. The Latin was nonsensical to Remy's ears, so it just washed over him as part of the music, something lovely and mystical with no clear meaning. Tante had brought him and Henri here as children, and while he wasn't an especially religious person, the memories caused him to instinctively adopt an attitude of respect while in this building. Neither he or Rogue spoke as they approached Ororo and Kurt, who were sitting in the back row of the church. Kurt sat with his eyes closed, seemingly caught up in the music while one hand was wrapped around his girlfriend's on his knee. Ororo in the meantime, appeared to have been watching the singer, but when Remy and Rogue stopped at their pew she glanced over at them and smiled.

"Lovely, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"_Oui._" Remy answered, and looked around. The afternoon sun shone through the jeweled glass of the windows, creating colored patches on the carpet. Thinking back, he figured this must be the church that Belle wanted to have their wedding at. She did have good taste; it was a beautiful place. He tried to imagine Belle coming down the aisle on Marius' arm, most likely in some frilly white dress with lace and a veil. He'd be up at the altar with Henri and Emil; Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie and Mercy would be in the front row. His Tante would have a tissue hidden in her sleeve; she said she never cried at weddings but Remy had seen her try to discretely dry her eyes when Henri and Mercy got married. His teasing her about it though had ended with him having kitchen duty peeling potatoes. He was sure she would cry at his wedding too. Jean-Luc would sit there with a smile on his face, Theoren, Etienne, Claude and the others would be grinning at him about whatever prank they would inevitably pull on him after the ceremony, and Julien would be sitting on the other side of the aisle glaring daggers at him. Oh yes, it would certainly be a most interesting affair.

It was weird though, getting married at eighteen. Remy couldn't even legally drink yet (not that that had ever stopped him). He was trying to imagine setting up house with Belle, living day to day with her. They'd have to stay with one or the other of their families at first for awhile, as Remy couldn't work much until his community service assignment was over and so wouldn't have much money coming in. They didn't want to completely rely on their families. There were definitely going to be changes. Belle was an early bird while Remy would be perfectly happy sleeping until noon. She didn't smoke, and while he had cut it down to maybe one or two cigarettes a day, he had the feeling she may ask him to quit once they were living under the same roof. And Remy had seen his fiancee sometimes after she had just finished a job, with traces of blood on her clothes or skin; he would have to get used to seeing her that way on a regular basis. It disturbed him to see her that way but he tried to ignore it, and just pictured her as he usually saw her; the feisty beautiful girl who kept him on his toes and made him smile. She had been so difficult lately though; he really hoped she would get back to her old self after the wedding. Two months. It was coming so soon now.

His thoughts were interrupted by Kurt. The older man opened his eyes and looked up at them. "Did you two have a good walk? What did you do?" he asked.

"Oh, we just wandered around a bit." Rogue said.

Apparently she didn't want to tell her brother about the fortune teller. Frankly, Remy agreed with her. Kurt was already unhappy enough about her decision to stay in New Orleans for the time being; there was no sense in worrying him.

Kurt just nodded and didn't question her further. "We should probably go, _liebchen_." he said to Ororo. She squeezed his hand before removing hers from his knee.

"You're probably right. It's going to be late by the time we get back." she said.

Remy stepped back and drew Rogue with him in order to let the two out of the pew. Kurt made a sign of the cross before turning to leave; Ororo following him.

Once outside, Kurt, in a surprisingly smooth maneuver, cut in front of Remy to walk with his sister. Remy just shrugged and fell in behind them with Ororo.

"You sure you want me walking around with your girlfriend, _mon ami_?" he asked teasingly, and took Ororo's hand. Kurt immediately glanced back at them but she smiled at him knowingly.

"Don't listen to him, Kurt. His fiancee probably knows at least a dozen ways to make him suffer without even breaking a nail."

"Ain't that the truth." Remy said, shaking his head.

"Ororo explained to me about this whole business with you and the Assassins," Kurt said, facing forward again, "but I just can't understand how you can marry someone who commits murder for a living."

Remy sighed. "I don't like it either, but it's the only way there's going to be any peace between our families. It was all out warfare before the engagement, and it had to stop. Besides, it's not like I'm a saint either. It'll work out." He squeezed his friend's hand and decided to change the subject.

"So how do you like the city so far?"

"I like it here, it's got so much character." Kurt said. "I can't wait to come back down and see some more."

"So you'll come back soon?" Rogue asked.

"Yes, as often as you'll let me." Kurt said sincerely.

From Remy's view he could see a small smile start on Rogue's face. He knew she must be happy that her brother was planning to remain in her life.

"I'd watch out, Rogue" Ororo said. "Kurt's been wanting a brother or sister all his life. He has a lot of catching up to do in the 'annoying brother' department."

"That's okay." Remy said. "She'll have no problem fitting into the 'annoying sister' role; she's had plenty of practice."

"Watch it, Swamp Rat." Rogue warned from in front of them.

Ororo laughed and Remy just grinned.

"Can't take the truth, _chere_?"

"Well he doesn't need to be warned." Rogue said.

"I think he's figured it out already, haven't you Kurt?" Remy asked.

"I plead the Fifth." is all Kurt said.

O-o-o-o-O

The ride to the airport was relaxed and friendly. Remy and Ororo made plans for her and Kurt to return next weekend for Rogue's stay over at the LeBeau's and their excursion to the dance halls while Rogue sat in the back seat with her brother while he told her stories about growing up in the circus with his adoptive parents. Now having an image of him in her mind thanks to Remy's absorbed thoughts, Rogue could picture him easily as the daring young man on the flying trapeze; quick, nimble and exuberant. Whether in blue fur or ordinary skin, he was a sweet, funny young man and she was so happy that they had found each other. She decided she could put up with Candace and her nonsense until she turned eighteen as long as she was going to have Kurt, Remy and Ororo in her life. Then she'd be free to do as she pleased, and who knows? Maybe she would go to New York. That was still aways off though, and the mean time she had the time to get to know her new family member better.

Once at the airport Rogue got out of the car while someone, probably Remy opened the trunk.

"What time does your flight leave?" she asked Kurt.

"Whenever I want." he replied. "Professor Xavier has a private jet."

"So you can fly planes, too? That's pretty cool." Rogue said. This school must be very successful, if the headmaster was able to afford his own jet.

"Yeah, I think so too." Kurt happily. "I'll have to take you up some time."

"Um, that's okay." Rogue said. "I've flown before, and the only thing I'd get to experience is air sickness."

"Oh, right." Kurt conceded, but Rogue didn't mind. She liked that he had apparently forgotten her blindness.

"Rogue, I'm so very glad I got to meet you." Ororo said, coming over to them. She took Rogue's hand and squeezed it, and Rogue squeezed hers in return.

"Me too." she smiled.

Kurt drew her aside. "You can still come with us." he said quietly. "You could get on that plane with me now and they'd never find you. I'll keep you safe Rogue. I know, you want to stay here for now, but please think about it. The anti-mutant activity is getting worse and I know you like Remy, but he's still just a thief who happened to get caught."

Rogue sighed. She should have known he wouldn't give up so easily. "Kurt it's okay. I know he's a dork sometimes, but Remy's a good guy. He won't let anything happen to me if he can help it." She'd had to deal with it for years now, but it still frustrated her, this having to rely on others to look out for her, to protect her. She was determined that one of these days she was going to be able to look out for herself; eyes or no eyes.

Her brother made a noise of frustration. "Alright, alright. I give up, for now. I want to give you our phone number though, if something happens or if you change your mind." And he told her a phone number and made her say it over and over until she had it memorized.

"Promise me you'll use it if something happens." he said finally.

Rogue nodded. "I promise."

"Good. I'm sorry, but I can't leave my sister with just a handshake." he said, and she found herself caught up in a pair of strong, wiry arms. She was startled at first, but he didn't let go and she found herself closing her arms around her brother to return the hug. The last hug she had received was from Carla after Irene died, and it felt so good to feel someone's arms around her again. Kurt hugged her tight.

"I thank God for you, Rogue." he whispered. "We'll be okay, you'll see."

Rogue felt a prick of tears at the corners of her eyes and blinked them away. She didn't know what to say to something like that. It made her feel so.........valued. She hadn't gone to church in years, and hadn't really thought much about God in recent years, especially considering the crap that He/She kept throwing her way, but right now she felt the same way Kurt did.

"Me too." she whispered. She felt a brush of soft fur against her cheek as Kurt let her go. It made her think of muppets for some reason, and had a brief flash of Kurt as Grover from Sesame Street. She had to bite back a laugh as she wasn't sure her brother would find it as funny as she did.

"I'll hopefully see you next weekend." he said.

"Good. Fly safe." Rogue said, and heard someone step up beside her.

"Nice to meet you." Remy said.

"Same here." Kurt replied. "You'd better take good care of her." he warned.

"Yes, yes, I know; the usual brotherly threats of doom, gloom and destruction. I get them all the time from Belle's brother." Remy said sarcastically.

"Just so we're clear." Kurt said, seemingly unfazed. "Come on _liebes_; let's go home and get my lecture from Scott over with."

"Hang on." Ororo said, and Rogue heard a rustle of clothing next to her that she assumed was her and Remy hugging.

"Goodbye Remy, I'll talk to you soon."

"Have a safe trip, _chere_." Remy said, then Rogue heard her and Kurt walk away.

"Well, I suppose." Remy said. "Feel like going back yet?"

"Not really." Rogue admitted.

"Good. Me either. Let's go for a drive." he said.

"Yeah? Where to?"

"Good question. Well, traditionally the place to sit and contemplate the day is supposed to be the beach, but we don't have any around here so we can't do that. There's the harbor but it's rather smelly over there. Of course there's the playground. Do you like swings, _chere_?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

Rogue smiled. "Sure, why not."

"Good. We'll go swing then." Remy paused. "You know, I think that's the first time I've ever said something like that and have it be completely innocent?"

"Uh oh." Rogue said. "Sounds like having to behave is starting to corrupt you."

"I know. Terrible, isn't it? I blame you of course." Remy said, and opened the car door for her.

"ME? I had nothing to do with it." Rogue protested as she got into the car.

"Sure you did. It's called corporeal punishment." Remy said.

"Oh. Well, at least it's working."

A little while later they parked at a playground which Remy told her wasn't too far from his house. After finding the swings, Rogue folded up her cane and sat down on one of the swings. She hadn't been on a swing set in years, but it didn't take her long to find the rhythm and soon she was up in the air.

"So what do you think of all this?" Remy called to her from his own neighboring swing.

"What, the playground or my brother?" she replied.

"Kurt of course. Unless you're in a soap opera, it's not every day that you find a relative you never knew you had."

"True." Rogue started slowing down. "To be honest part of me is still trying to believe it. I grew up believing Irene was my only family, now I find out that she lied to me. After that whole business with the fortune teller I'm thinking there must be a definite reason why, but it doesn't change the fact that she lied to me, and kept me away from my brother."

"She's gone though." Remy said, and joined her as she came to a halt. "It's not going to do you any good to stay mad at her. And you have your brother now; you'd be better off building a relationship with him, no matter how late in life it came about."

"You're right Remy." Rogue admitted, pushing off again into motion.

"Of course I am."

"Don't get used to it."

"You just don't like to admit the truth." Remy said smugly.

"Nah, I'd just hate to have your father's doorways busted when your inflated head tries to go through them." Rogue said.

"You wound me, _chere_."

"Nah, I'm in too good a mood right now. Maybe later." Rogue said, and pushed the swing up high into the sky.

O-o-o-o-O

That evening, Kurt and Ororo were sitting in Professor Xavier's office with the other teachers. Ororo had finished her report, and now Scott, taking his role as leader of the X-Men a little too seriously, was finishing up his scolding of Kurt for taking the X-jet.

"I don't know understand what the problem is, _mein freund_." Kurt said, sitting back as comfortably as was possible in Xavier's chairs. "Somebody had to go pick up Ororo anyway; I just did you a favor and saved you the trip."

"Yes, but I'm the main pilot for the X-jet........" Scott started, but Kurt cut him off.

"I can fly just as well as you can." he said. "Maybe better. At least I can land."

Across the room, Logan smirked. He always loved seeing Cyke get taken down a notch.

"Enough gentlemen." Charles Xavier said from his desk. "So Kurt, you're certain that your sister does not want to join you here for the time being?"

"Yes, Professor. She's made friends with Remy LeBeau and his family, the teachers here aren't trained to work with the blind, and she's worried about accidents with her mutation being around the students here."

Xavier nodded. "It's a valid concern, and I agree with her caution. Should she decide to move here though, I think there are things we can do to make her more comfortable. There are institutes for the blind in New York that can be contacted for recommendations on private tutors. In the meantime, perhaps we can speak to her social worker and arrange for Rogue to visit you here in the near future."

"I suspect that will be highly unlikely Charles." Ororo said from her seat next to Kurt. She had her fingers entwined with his between their chairs. "Candace Gillespie is becoming increasingly anti-mutant and from what Remy says, she wasn't fond of Rogue to begin with. She may refuse just out of spite."

Charles nodded. "I see. Well we'll have to deal with that when and if it happens."

"I still can't believe that Destiny managed to hide Mystique's daughter for all these years. said Jean, who had been silent up until now. She was leaning up against the wall of the office, next to her husband, Scott.

"Are you sure she's who she says she is?" Logan asked. He never automatically accepted anything, and was naturally suspicious of anything concerning his enemies.

"She has no reason to lie, Logan." said Xavier. "In fact, from what Ororo has said about her mutation it would not be to her advantage at all to lie. Someone with a mutation like that has the potential to become very powerful, and Magneto would not be able to resist recruiting her, by force if necessary. No, she seems to know nothing about us, and almost nothing about Raven. Destiny seems to have brought her up in complete ignorance of her background. I think she is who she says she is."

"Do you have any idea at all who Rogue's father could be?" Jean asked. "You have to wonder where he is in this picture."

Charles seemed to think for a moment, then glanced over at Logan. Everyone else's heads followed.

"Whattaya looking at ME for?" the short, muscular mutant protested.

"If I remember correctly Logan....." Charles started to say.

Logan groaned. "It was ONCE. I was drunk at the time. Besides, it was over twenty years ago; the kid wouldn't even have been born yet. Raven wasn't a saint; it could have been anybody."

Ororo decided to get back on topic. "From what Rogue has said, she plans on staying in New Orleans at least until her eighteenth birthday. But the anti-mutant situation there really has me worried. Remy was able to point several prominent local figures at the Friends of Humanity meeting we went to. And with her social worker becoming more sympathetic to them, I fear things may become very difficult for the girl. What do you suggest our next steps should be?" she asked, and felt Kurt squeeze her hand.

Charles sat back in his wheelchair. "Well, for now the only thing we can do is keep an eye on the anti-mutant groups there. And Ororo, the information you gathered will be a big help to us with that. I will also have my lawyers research the request for guardianship procedures at the Louisiana Department of Social Services and draw up a petition, should Rogue decide to leave before she turns eighteen. I will also speak to her to get more information concerning her mutation; hopefully there is something that can be done to help her gain some kind of control, both for her sake and that of others."

He picked a pen and looked down at some papers on his desk. "Now unless there's anything else, I believe we're finished for the evening."

The teachers, both those who had spoken up and those who had remained silent, got up and headed out of the office.

Logan walked behind Scott and Jean. "I gotta tell ya Cyke, the jet looks better than any time you've taken it out. Not a dent in it. Maybe we should have Kurt play pilot more often." he said.

"Oh shut up."

Logan just grinned. It was just too easy.

O-o-o-o-O

Yeah, I know. Nowhere near as long as the last chapter, and not much happened. I just needed to get Sunday over with so I could start working us closer to some real plot.


	24. As Time Goes By

AN

AN: Have you ever noticed how, if you know you're supposed to be doing one thing, it makes you more likely to procrastinate by doing something else? I wasn't planning to have this done so soon, but my procrastination regarding my homework is working in your favor.

O-o-o-o-O

By the end of her first week of study at the LeBeau's Rogue felt like her legs were going to turn solid black and blue. After having Remy and Mercy give her a more detailed walking tour of the downstairs, she was determined to navigate on her own and the resulting bumps, bangs and occasional stubbed toes kept her wincing. Mercy and the others tried to offer help, but Remy and Martine didn't; other than telling her if she was heading into the wrong room they kept quiet; they knew she had to learn her way around on her own and she appreciated it. And she slowly made progress. By the end of the 2nd week she banged into things less and less, and by the end of the month she could navigate fairly easily on her own, as long as the furniture was kept in relatively the same places. One day Emil had thought it would be funny to rearrange some of the furniture on her, but after a little 'talk' with Remy he apologized and fervently promised to never do it again.

Rogue's lessons were going well too. After her schoolbooks arrived, she and Martine studied from morning until mid-afternoon, taking a short break for lunch. Her tutor said she was a fast learner and should have no problem getting her GED. Along with math, science, history and English, Martine was starting her on political science as well as French. Having absorbed Remy helped with the French, but Rogue still thought it was a rather confusing language. Political science was interesting though, and they spent part of each day going over the news headlines and discussing current events as well as politically significant events in the past. At first Remy had used her study time to read or play on the computer while they worked, but then Martine decided that he should learn Braille, so now he studied along with Rogue. Martine said he was learning quickly, and had him read from Rogue's schoolbooks when she wasn't using them.

Lunchtime was enjoyable; it was usually everyone for his or her own self unless someone got in the mood to cook. Despite making jokes about food poisoning and needing to buy life insurance, Rogue discovered that Remy was actually a decent cook; he made a mean pot of chili, and knew how to cook pasta just right, not overcooked and not undercooked. Various members of the family would be there depending on their schedules. During the first week when Emil was taking his explosives class, he would often come in smelling of smoke, and Mercy would comment about the scorch marks on his clothes. One day he entered the kitchen and Remy asked him where his eyebrows were. The younger man just laughed and said they were a sacrifice to the fire gods. Despite the jokes and lost facial hair though, Jean-Luc said that Emil had done reasonably well and would be allowed to handle demolition when needed on future jobs.

He or Henri would often appear for lunch; over those weeks Rogue grew to enjoy Henri's company as much as Emil or Mercy's. Like the rest of the family, he had a good sense of humor, while at the same time he had a practicality about him that showed Rogue why he was one of Jean-Luc's main assistants in the Guild. After awhile the Thieves grew comfortable enough with Rogue to discuss business around her at the table, and from this she developed a respect for the Patriarch both as a person and as a businessman. From the ruthless way he dealt with his enemies and opponents in business she decided that he was definitely not someone that she would want to cross. At the same time he was loyal to his family and those that they let into their circle. Rogue wondered though, with the business and the family being so intertwined, what would happen if the two conflicted. Take Remy's wedding, for example. She could tell that Jean-Luc wanted his son to be happy, but it was obvious that that desire was tempered by a driving need to end the war with the Assassins. She wasn't sure why she wondered about that; after all, even though Remy was annoyed by Belle's continued rudeness to her, and had even discussed with Rogue his reservations about marrying so young, there was no indication from either side that they wanted to end the engagement. Belle wouldn't of course, any time she had been to the LeBeau house she had been exuberant and gushed about her wedding plans. Remy though, what would Jean-Luc do if his son decided to call off the wedding? There wasn't any sign of that though; while he wasn't as gung-ho about the wedding as his fiancee was, Remy still made his own plans. He had given Belle the list of people he wanted to invite to the wedding, but had made a couple of invitations personally, such as Ororo and Kurt. Rogue had been shocked when he had invited her as well. She and Remy had become good friends since their rocky start, and normally she would be happy to be there for him on an occasion like this, but did she really want to be there while he married the mushroom? Time had only proved to the two girls that they despised each other. Rogue would rather sit in at an anti-mutant rally than listen to Remy and Belle make their vows to each other. It made her sick to her stomach. Remy was her friend though, and since she couldn't disappoint him she had agreed to be at the wedding. She was glad she had; it had made him very happy. Mercy was happy about it too; she said she was glad to have some moral support while watching that 'psycho hose-beast' (her words) become her sister in law. She had also made plans for her and Rogue to go shopping together for dresses. Since Mercy wasn't one of the bridesmaids, she could wear whatever she wanted. Rogue decided that hanging out with Mercy and the others would possibly make the whole thing a lot more bearable. She still didn't like it though.

Her relationship with Remy wasn't the only one that was developing. She spoke to Kurt about 2-3 times a week, and his cheerful conversation always made her day brighter. Rogue often spoke to Ororo too, and grew to like her brother's much calmer girlfriend. She and Kurt seemed to bring out the best in each other, and Rogue was glad that they were together. Everything didn't go the way they wanted though. When Remy had first approached Candace with the idea of Rogue spending the weekend with his family she had turned him down flat. It took sheer persistence and annoyance on Remy's part, but by the end of the month Candace finally grew tired enough of his badgering to let Rogue have her sleepover. So now here she was on Friday morning, packing her overnight bag while listening to Remy rock back and forth in her chair.

"Can't believe you're not packed already." he said. "Then again, you _femmes_ always take forever."

Rogue made a sound of frustration. "I can't help it if Candace didn't bother to bring the box until this morning." She was shuffling through it now with her gloves off, trying to determine what and where everything was. It would have been easier if she had been the one to pack the box, as she usually kept her things very organized, but she wasn't the one who had packed this. It had been the social worker who had been assigned to her immediately after Irene's death, before coming to the home. The woman had assumed that Rogue didn't know how to pack and so hadn't consulted her on where to put things. Rogue had her bag out and had packed the clothes she wanted for the weekend, but there was one more thing she wanted to take with her, that she wanted to share with her brother. After rummaging around for another minute or two, she finally started removing books and tossing them on the bed. At last she found what she wanted, sitting at the bottom of the box. She pulled them out and turned to Remy.

"I wanted to show these to Kurt. I don't know if he has any pictures of our mother or not."

Rogue heard him get up. He took the pictures and she knew what he would be seeing. One of them would be of Irene and herself as a child. The other would be of Irene with her mother. In her mind's eye she could still see them, both smiling happily together in front of the camera. Irene said it had been taken about a couple of years before Rogue was born. She was glad to be able to have that image of her mother in her memory.

"Very striking-looking woman. I see the resemblance to your brother." Remy said.

"I know." Rogue smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here. You don't want to keep Martine waiting." Her teacher was a firm believer in punctuality.

"_Moi?_ You're the one who's still packing, _chere_." Remy protested, handing the pictures back to her.

Rogue tucked the pictures into her bag and closed it. Grabbing that and her schoolbag, she put her gloves on, opened her cane and started for the door.

"Well I'm done now, so you coming or what?" she asked before she went into the hall and left him behind.

Rogue was really looking forward to this weekend. Kurt and Ororo weren't arriving until tomorrow, but she was going to stay over tonight and hang out with the LeBeau's. Then tomorrow she'd spend the day with her brother and his girlfriend before they all went out dancing that night. For some reason Remy still wanted to teach her how to dance. Rogue hadn't been the best dancer even when she could see, and while she had only been a child the last time she had danced, she figured that any advantage gained by growing up and losing the awkwardness of childhood would be evened out by the fact that she couldn't see where she was going. So far she hadn't been able to convince Remy of this though; he was determined to have her dance. She finally decided to humor him, and if he ended up getting his toes stepped on it was his own damn fault.

"Henri and Mercy are coming with us tomorrow night." Remy said as he caught up with her. "Emil too."

"Emil dances?" Rogue asked in disbelief.

Remy laughed. "No, but that doesn't stop him. _Mon frere_ now, he's a smooth one. Thinks he's Fred Astaire."

"You jealous?" Rogue grinned as they left the building.

"Jealous? _Non. _Freddy ain't got nothing on Remy. " He said smugly.

"'Freddy ain't got nothing on Remy'. Are you going to start talking in third person now?" Rogue asked, making a face.

"Hmm, do you think I should? How's this: Remy thinks he puts Fred Astaire to shame." Remy laughed.

"Eww. No. That sounds so lame."

"Oh come on, _chere_. Remy thinks it could be a new style. Maybe Remy'll talk this way from now on." He joked.

"And maybe Rogue thinks she'll smack Remy upside the head if he keeps it up."

"Pfffft. You're no fun." Remy said, the pout evident in his voice.

"I just don't want to listen to you sound like an idiot. More than usual, that is."

"I really think it could catch on though." Remy said, apparently deciding to ignore the insult. They reached the car and he let her in.

"It makes you sound like you've got multiple personalities." Rogue placed her overnight bag in the back seat and put her seatbelt on. "Thankfully I know better. There's barely enough room in there for you, let alone anyone else."

Remy got in the car, and she heard him buckle his own seatbelt before starting the car. "You certainly know how to make a person feel good."

"Hey someone has to keep your ego from getting too big." Rogue said as they drove off.

"I've already got my Tante, my sister in law and my fiancee doing that." Remy said plaintively.

"Obviously they're not doing a very good job." Rogue ignored the mention of Belle, not wanting to ruin a perfectly good taunting session.

Remy was quiet for a moment. "You know, there's no real response I can make to that remark and come out looking good."

Rogue grinned. "Well whattaya know, he _can_ admit defeat."

"Sometimes _chere_, it's just safer that way."

O-o-o-o-O

The morning went by without anything unusual happening; Remy worked on reading one of Rogue's books while she discussed Apartheid with Martine and then took a math test. They stopped for lunch and Remy made sandwiches. It was just the three of them; Tante Mattie was out to lunch with a friend and everyone else was working. Part of Remy envied them; he hadn't 'worked' since his arrest, and he missed it. Whether it be meandering through the streets during the day, or climbing the roof tops at night; alone or with his family, it was still just him and the city. He couldn't imagine being anywhere or doing anything else. It wouldn't be too much longer though; his _pere_ had said that he could start going out on jobs again after the wedding. Jean-Luc had said that would hopefully allow enough time for the watchful eye of the law to relax a little. He'd have to stick with night work though until his community service assignment was finished.

Remy wondered how things would go with that. His assignment was for one year, but Rogue would be eighteen in less than six months now, and unless she planned to stay at the home, he would be reassigned. He knew that Rogue had no intention of staying there any longer than necessary though. After discussing things with Kurt, Ororo and Professor Xavier, she had decided that after her birthday she would be moving to New York. The resident doctor, a Dr. Henry McCoy, had been given all of the information that Rogue could think of regarding her mutation, but without having her on hand to run tests there was little he could do in the way of trying to help control it.

Rogue had also begun to search for colleges in the area, and found a couple that offered assistance for the visually impaired, as well as online classes. So far she said she hadn't decided on a major yet though.

Remy wished her well, he really did. It was just that it had been over a month; she had become part of his everyday life, and part of the family circle, she fit in with them so well that it was going to be hard to imagine her not being around. He had thought of asking her to stay; with the Guild's connections it would be no problem to find her a job, and he was sure that Martine would be more than happy to help with any post-secondary education that Rogue might want. She could live with his family if she wanted, he was sure that his _pere_ wouldn't mind, or Remy could help her find an apartment. She'd have a home, a job, friends, and they could hang out together as much as they want. He didn't know if that was what Rogue wanted though. She'd become very close to her brother and his girlfriend; they talked every few days on the phone in the library and it wasn't unusual to hear her laughter from the hall during their conversations. He knew that Kurt was very excited and was ready to prepare things for her arrival after her birthday in November. Rogue would have a home and schooling; she'd make new friends, she'd be with her family and there was the possibility of controlling her mutation. What Remy could offer paled in comparison. He did wish her well though. He would just miss her, that's all. Despite the bruises and annoyances of the first week, they had become friends and instead of his community service being a punishment, Remy enjoyed spending the time with her. He didn't even mind when Martine had decided to teach him Braille; he joked with Rogue that it would help him with the restroom signs in buildings when he was out on a job. It was interesting to learn. He doubted he would be reading as fast as Rogue any time soon, but he figured it couldn't hurt to have another skill under his belt. But after she left, who would be around to help him practice reading? Who would keep him in line, as Rogue seemed to think he needed? She was the one girl he couldn't charm, and he found himself not feeling the need to charm her. Rogue was his friend, and that was valuable to him since most girls he knew outside of the Guild tended to flirt and fawn over him, with or without his help. Rogue had never seen him, and never would; the fact that she liked him despite that meant a lot to Remy.

Her birthday was aways off though, and in the meantime he was determined to just enjoy his friend's company while it lasted, rather than depress himself while he chopped onions. Finishing the sandwich he was making for himself, Remy went and joined Rogue and Martine where they sat at the table, already eating their own lunch. They were almost done when Remy heard the front door open.

"Remy!" called Henri from the front entrance.

"YO! REMY!" shouted a voice that Remy recognized as belonging to his cousin Theoren.

"In here!" Remy called from the table. A minute later his brother and his cousin came into the kitchen.

"Hi Rogue, Martine." Henri said. Theoren nodded to the ladies.

"Hey Henri." Rogue smiled. "Who's that you've got with you?"

"Rogue, this my cousin Theoren." Remy said. "Theoren, this is my friend Rogue, and her tutor, Martine Talbot." Rogue's smile got a just a tiny bit bigger and Remy just knew that she was pleased that he hadn't mentioned anything about her being his community service assignment. Theoren knew about the arrangement though, it was common knowledge in the Guild.

"Remy, Theo and I need to talk to you in the office." Henri said.

Remy immediately knew that this was business. It was okay to talk business around Rogue, she was accepted in the family circle and his _pere_ felt comfortable discussing Guild matters with her around, but Martine was an outsider.

"_Oui._ Rogue, Martine, I need to go talk business with the boys. I'll see you in a little while." Remy said as he got up from the table, taking his sandwich with him.

"Okay." Rogue shrugged, obviously understanding.

"Go ahead Remy." Martine said with a comfortable smile. "I'm sure we'll carry on fine without you." Remy knew that Rogue's teacher was fully aware of the business her employer was in, so she would be aware that some things would be kept private.

"Thanks." Remy said, and followed Henri and Theoren into his father's office. Once inside he plopped down into his father's chair and set the remains of his sandwich on the desk. "So what's up, _mon frere_?" he asked before taking a mouthful.

"Etienne's Tilling." Theoren said, taking one of the other chairs. Henri sat on the corner of the desk. "Last month you said you'd be his backup. Well, school's done for the summer and he's ready for his assignment. Are you still willing to go with him?"

"Of course." Remy said. "I'm glad to do that for him. When does he want to do it?" Normally it would be Etienne he would be asking for this kind of thing, but Theoren had always been protective of his little brother and Etienne followed along. Remy had been surprised that the boy had asked for him to go along on his Tilling rather than Theoren, but then maybe the boy wanted a chance to get from under his brother's shadow and prove himself. Remy could understand that and applauded it. And he was glad that Theoren seemed to be okay with it.

"Next weekend." said Henri. "There's a job down at the harbor that he should be able to take care of quite nicely. I'll give you both the details in a couple of days."

Remy nodded. He and Etienne would be given the same amount of information at the same time; it would be up to Etienne to gather any other information he thought he would need, to check out the property, both outside and inside if possible. He would lead the job, and it would be Remy's job to follow Etienne's orders, play back up and at the same time take notes on his performance in order to judge his capability as a thief. Afterwards, if the job was successful, Remy would share his observations with Jean-Luc, Henri and the other elders of the Guild, and help them decide if Etienne should be a full-fledged Thief.

"Sounds good." he said. They talked a few more minutes about Guild matters, and Remy finished his lunch.

"So what are you and Mercy doing tonight?" Remy asked, when all the official business had been discussed and Theoren had left.

"We're having a night out. Mercy says I've been working too much lately." Henri said, making a face.

Remy grinned. "So where's she having you take her?"

"Out for dessert and then a movie. She wants to go to that little French restaurant downtown."

Remy looked confused. "I thought you didn't like the food there?"

"Yeah, but I proposed there so she's sentimental about the place, even if the food isn't that great." Henri shrugged.

Remy shook his head. "Makes me glad that I proposed to Belle here."

"You're lucky." Henri said. "Are you and Rogue going to hang out here tonight?"

"No. I'd thought we'd go out and do something. Can't go to a movie though. Any ideas?"

"You and Rogue out alone, hmm? Sounds like your first date." Henri smirked.

Remy glared at him. "You know better than that. Belle would kill me."

"No, _Julien_ would kill you. Belle would kill Rogue. She already looks at the girl like she'd like to wring her neck." Henri said with amusement.

Remy sighed. "I'm glad you find it so funny. Rogue's my friend; I wish Belle would get over her jealousy and realize that."

"Well, you must admit that you two seem pretty close."

"So we're friends. Big deal. It just makes this whole community service thing easier. That doesn't mean I'm going to cheat on Belle." Remy said.

"Rogue's certainly a lot nicer than Belle; she doesn't make Mercy want to bring out her claws, for one thing. And you're a lot nicer to her these days than you are to your own fiancee." Henri observed.

"That's because I'm annoyed with Belle for acting like such a brat." Remy defended himself.

"What if Belle wasn't around though; would you be so determined to keep Rogue in the friend category?" Henri teased.

Remy wasn't sure what to say to that. What if Belle wasn't around? Would he be willing to look at Rogue in another light? Yes, she was beautiful and they got along really well; the fact that she couldn't see him didn't bother him, as for her mutation, well, Remy had a great imagination and could come up with any number of ways to get around it. Did he want that though? Rogue was his friend; outside of his family she was probably one of his best friends. Did he want the whole romance thing to get in the way of that? Yes, Henri and Mercy had a great friendship and marriage, but he had seen so many friendships go downhill once sex and romance were brought into the picture. He and Belle used to be good friends before they started dating. Belle had begun to be so jealous though, especially since Remy started spending time with Rogue. He loved Belle, but he wanted the friendship he once had with her back too. Did he want that to happen to him and Rogue if they went down that path?

Remy gave himself a mental shake. What was he thinking? He and Rogue weren't like that. And it wasn't any good to wonder what would happen if Belle wasn't in the picture because she was, and besides, Rogue is going to New York after she turns eighteen, so it was pointless to wonder such things.

"_Yes_" Remy said. "You know she's going to live with her brother in New York after her birthday. Anyway, you still haven't given me any ideas on what we can do tonight."

"Okay, well, since movies are out, umm.....bowling?" Henri offered.

"Riiiiiiigghhhht." Remy drawled. "You want me to take a blind girl out bowling. And have her give me a concussion with one of the balls if she gets pissed off?"

"So don't piss her off." Henri said. "Oh, right. Nevermind. Well, how about rollerskating?"

"Rollerskating?"

"Sure. At least there won't be any deadly objects for her to use when you annoy her. Besides, it could be fun. And Belle couldn't possibly get jealous over the two of you rollerskating." Henri said in a reasonable voice.

_Oh I'm sure she could_ Remy thought to himself. Rollerskating didn't sound too bad. Yeah, the first few lessons would probably be painful for them both, but he thought she might be able to get the hang of it. He would just have to keep an out for her.

"Sure, why not?" he said at last.

O-o-o-o-O

"You want me to do _what_?" Rogue said in disbelief as the family sat dinner that evening.

"Rollerskating." Remy said, and she could hear the grin in his voice.

"Rollerskating." Rogue repeated. "You want to take a blind girl rollerskating. This is revenge for me calling you an idiot this morning, isn't it?"

"_Non_, I swear. Besides it was Henri's idea." Remy said.

"Oh REALLY." Rogue said, the tone of her voice turning dangerous.

"HEY! Don't bring me into this." Remy's brother protested from further down the table. They were eating in the dining room rather than the kitchen; Rogue was seated between Emil and Mercy, with Remy across from her.

"Well it's true, it was your idea." Remy said gleefully.

"Yes, but you don't have to use it against me."

"I don't care who's idea it was, you're crazy if you think you're going to get me to try to roller skate." Rogue stated before taking a bite of her dinner.

"Why not? It could be fun." Mercy asked.

"'Cause I'd be falling on my ass." Rogue replied testily.

"Rogue, watch your language at the table." Tante Mattie warned.

"Sorry Tante." Rogue said apologetically. Over the time that she had spent with the LeBeau's, Tante Mattie had started treating her as one of the family; meaning while she didn't get some of the punishments that Remy had described in the past for his transgressions(of course she hadn't done anything to deserve those either), she would get reprimanded just like any of the others if the situation called for it. And rather than resenting it, Rogue found herself feeling grateful. Irene had been the same way, and it made her feel like part of a family again.

"So, you'd fall down a few times. Everyone does when they're learning it." Remy said.

"You'd have to lead me though, and I thought you didn't like the thought of being someone's seeing eye dog." Rogue said.

"Don't think of it as that kind of leading." Remy said. "Think of it as dancing, and I'm in the lead."

"Ya'll are crazy." Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Oh come on Rogue." said Emil, who amazingly enough had been quiet up until now.

"You would just want to see me fall down so you can laugh." Rogue said.

"No, I'd want to see you beat on Remy when _he _laughs."

"Thanks, _cousin._" Remy said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Emil returned with great smugness.

"Really Rogue, I think it could be fun." Mercy said.

"Please Mercy, don't tell me you're on their side." Rogue complained.

"No, of course not. Naturally I don't blame you for not wanting to be seen in public with my brother in law, but if you can ignore that you could have fun." Mercy said. "Besides, if you fall, just make sure you do it on him."

"I feel so loved." Remy said in a woebegone voice.

Surprisingly enough, Tante Mattie spoke up. "I agree with Mercy. It would get you both out and doing something, and would be better than staying home with us old people."

"Are you going out too, Emil?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go play pool with Etienne and Claude." The young man said. "Theoren's got a date."

"Remy said you were gonna come dancing with us tomorrow though, right?" Rogue asked. Despite their awkward start with his startling the hell out of her, she really liked Emil and considered him as an annoying little brother.

"Yep! You're saving me a dance, right?" Emil laughed.

"I suppose. You couldn't be any worse than Remy." she said.

"No way. I can dance circles around my cousin." Emil replied confidently.

Several coughs scattered across the table.

"Don't listen to them Rogue. I'm a good dancer. Now come on, you should go rollerskating with Remy. He'll probably end up falling down more than you anyway."

Rogue groaned. "Fine. But if I fall down Swamp Rat, I'm taking you with me." she said to Remy.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, _chere_." Remy teased.

O-o-o-o-O

After dinner Henri and Mercy went out, and Emil left to meet up with Etienne and Claude. Rogue needed to keep up with current events for her political science class, so she and Remy stayed so she could listen to the news before they went rollerskating. It was a nice night so they took Remy's motorcycle. Rogue didn't think she would ever get tired of riding on it. When you couldn't see anything, it made the sensation of travel more real than just sitting in a car. The feeling of the wind in her face and the hum of the motor beneath her. The warmth of the person in front of her wasn't bad either. She had to admit (well, not out loud, and _definitely_ not to him), Remy was nice to hang on to. He was warm, solid, and just the right size for her to wrap her arms around. Not that she'd ever really spent a lot of time hugging people, other than Irene, Carla, and her friends back home, that is. It was a strictly clinical observation anyway. If something happened; if he ended up going too fast around a corner or something like that, she'd have no problem keeping a good grip on him.

Remy told her that the skating rink they were going to was on the other side of town, not too far from where the home was. Rogue could hear music, and people chatting nearby when they parked.

"You sure about this, Swamp Rat?" she asked quietly after Remy took her helmet.

"Don't worry, _chere_." Remy said. "You'll probably do better than a lot of these guys."

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah. It looks like the drinking started early tonight."

"Thanks a LOT." Rogue said sarcastically and swatted him.

"Come on, relax." Remy said, tucking her arm in his. Rogue didn't even mind this anymore from him if they were out in public. It had become natural and she kind of liked it. She just unfolded her cane and walked along with him. Once inside, Remy paid admission and ordered skates for them both before she could even tell him her shoe size. She just took her pair in bewilderment.

"How did you know my shoe size?" Rogue asked once they had sat down to put on the skates.

"I looked at the bottom of your shoe when you had your legs crossed this afternoon." he replied calmly.

"Do you usually go around looking at the bottom of women's shoes?" Rogue asked.

"_Non, _you're doing it wrong; this is where you're supposed to praise me for being such an observant guy. Aren't women always wanting men to notice and remember things?" Remy asked.

"I suppose." Rogue said hesitantly, not really having much experience in this matter. "But shoe size?"

"Of course! You're supposed to think. '_Oh what a sweet guy, he remembered so he can buy me shoes for my birthday!_'" Remy said in a scarily decent falsetto.

"Oh. Okay. So you're buying me shoes for my birthday?" Rogue asked, still a little unsure about the whole thing.

"I don't know. Do you want shoes for your birthday?"

"Not really." Rogue said.

"Oh." Remy said, sounding a little deflated. "At least I was able to order your skates for you."

Rogue nodded, tying up her laces. "That's true. Thank you. Do a lot of guys do that; check out their girlfriend's feet so they can go buy shoes?"

"No, though I know a lot of women wish they would."

Rogue finished tying up her laces and sat up. She was going to grab her cane but Remy snatched it out of her hand, and she faintly heard the clicks of the metal as he folded it up.

"It's not really going to do you much good here; you need your hands to help with balance, and to grab things in case you fall." Remy said. He took both of Rogue's hands and pulled her up to her feet. She felt a little wobbly, and bumped against him before steadying herself. She was afraid to move, the wheels made her feel unsteady.

"This is weird." Rogue muttered. Remy let go of her hands and she grabbed what she figured from the heaviness of the material was probably his coat.

"Okay, I'm going to do something you're going to be mad at me for right now, but you'll thank me for it later." Remy said, and before Rogue could even think he pressed his lips against her forehead. A second or two passed, and Rogue felt him shudder as he broke away. Random thoughts flooded her head; Etienne's Tilling next weekend, a joke Emil had told yesterday involving ice cream and a penguin, the thought that he would miss her when she left. What hit her most though was the image of the interior of the rink. She knew what it looked like and understood where she was within it. She could keep this picture in her mind and use it to help keep herself oriented..

Remy's voice woke her from her contemplation of his thoughts. "Rogue, your gloves. Take it back in!"

Startled, she realized that her hands felt warm; no, her _gloves_ felt warm. Quickly she pictured Remy's power coming back inside of herself, and gradually her gloves cooled down.

"Remy you idiot." Rogue whispered harshly, grabbing more tightly onto his coat. "What do you think you're doing, trying that in public?"

"Trying to help you. You can see the inside of this place now, right?"

"Yes." Rogue said hesitantly. "But that's not the point. What if you weren't able to break away? I'd be stuck with an unconscious Cajun wearing roller skates."

"You didn't hurt me Rogue." Remy said. "I feel a little tipsy, but other than that I'm okay. Besides, your power is there to be used, so you might as well use it. If it's the only way I can give you something you need, then I don't mind. Are you okay though? I didn't give you too many weird thoughts,did I?"

"No." Rogue said, giving her head a shake. "I know Etienne's Tilling is next weekend, and Emil told you a really bad joke last night, but other than that the only thing I saw was this rink." She decided he didn't need to know that she had seen his thought regarding her leaving.

"Damn, I wanted to tell you that joke." Remy complained.

"You just did." Rogue smirked.

"Technically, Emil did. I would have told it a lot better." Remy said.

"I doubt it." Rogue said, shaking her head a little. "That was a pretty bad joke."

"Come on, let's give you your first lesson in falling down, or skating; whichever happens first." Remy wrapped his arm around her waist and between them she managed to shuffle her way over to where the main space was.

From Remy's thoughts she saw that the main floor was smooth, polished wood. She ran her foot over it with the skate on it and it rolled very easily. She tried to shuffle forward again and this time slipped a little. Thankfully Remy's arm was still around her because she wasn't quite sure where the railing was from where she stood. The pop music being played over the speakers was loud, but not loud enough that she couldn't hear him. The rumble of skates over the wood floor announced people as they passed by. And all around them were people talking and laughing. Her mind kept going back to a few minutes ago though, and how it had felt when Remy kissed her forehead. His mouth had felt so soft against her skin, and very warm. She had always noticed any time he had touched her, how very very warm he was; she supposed it came with his mutation. It had just been very gentle, and very nice, and why the hell did he have to do that? It was just very........................_why the hell did he have to do that?_ What if he had passed out? She swore she could still feel the imprint of his lips against her. She figured she should wipe her forehead with her sleeve or something, to get rid of the feeling. She didn't though.

_Stupid, stupid Swamp Rat_ ....she grumbled inside herself.

"Okay _petite_, ready to go?" Remy asked, letting go of her waist to move in front of her. Taking both of her hands, he pulled her further onto the floor of the rink. "It's a little hard to explain without being able to show you, but basically you just kind of push off to the side with one foot, and move your weight onto the other. Then switch and repeat. Go on, try it."

"Um, okay." Rogue said, and gripping Remy's hands, pushed off to the side with her right foot, and tried to keep her left leg steady. That leg quickly tried to roll backwards, but just as she started to fall forwards Remy grabbed her arms and steadied her.

"That's okay, most people do that on their first try." he said encouragingly. "Try it again."

Rogue tried again, and again, and again. After the first few slips she managed to keep her balance better, until finally Remy was able to skate backwards with her rather steadily.

"I don't know how you manage to do that backwards." she said after a few minutes of going slowly around the rink with him.

"I'm just good." Remy replied smugly, and Rogue rolled her eyes. "Now I want you to try it without me. I'm going to let go of your hands, but I'll stay nearby."

"Greeeeaaaat." Rogue said, and when Remy let go of her hands she panicked for a moment, trying to stay balanced without him steadying her, but finally started to move again. It was weird, moving around like this, especially without being able to see, but she thought maybe she could get to like it.

"Pretty good, _chere_." Remy said happily, and Rogue grinned. Her pleasure was short-lived though, as the rumble of approaching skates came. Childish voices in what sounded like an argument came up to next to her, a body bumped into her causing her to lose her balance, and Rogue promptly crashed to the floor with a completely undignified squawk.

"Watch where you're going!" Remy snarled.

"Whatever, you mutie freaks!" called a young male voice.

"Stupid kids. You okay, Rogue?" Remy asked, grabbing her hands to help her up.

Her tail bone smarted from where she landed on it, but otherwise she felt okay. Mostly she was just annoyed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grumbled as Remy pulled her up. Rogue hung onto his hands while she regained her balance, then let go.

"Remy, how did he know we were mutants?"

"Well, umm, that's my fault." Remy said, sounding apologetic. "My eyes aren't....normal, and when you absorbed me you took on my eye color too. I don't know why it happened this time though; it didn't the last couple of times I touched you."

"Oh. That's weird." Rogue said, trying to take it in. She didn't realized she could actually _loo__k_ like the people she absorbed. "Well, you did touch me a tiny bit longer than the last few times. Or maybe it's accumulative? You are the only person who's ever touched me more than once." Rogue said, then paused. "What do your eyes look like, anyway?"

"Well they're um, they're red on black." Remy said, once again sounded apologetic. "No white showing at all."

"That sounds kind of cool." Rogue said, intrigued. She wondered how she looked with red and black eyes. She wondered how _he_ looked with red and black eyes. It was actually the first thing she had ever learned about his appearance.

"Actually, they're rather demonic looking." Remy said, still not sounding too happy about it. "They tend to freak people out. I get called _le diable blanc_ sometimes. 'The White Devil'."

"I'm sorry." Rogue said. It was terrible that he would get picked on like that for something that wasn't his fault. It was just one more thing about this whole mutant-human issue that pissed her off.

"It's okay, _chere._ I've gotten used to it." Remy said, trying to sound nonchalant, but Rogue didn't believe him. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to get used to it if it was her. Actually right now it was her.

"Do you think it will last?" Rogue asked, indicating her own eyes. She was undecided about whether it would be a good or bad thing. She'd love to be able to see the expression on Candace's face if she ever saw her like this though.

"I don't know. Probably not; you don't keep my power for very long."

Rogue shrugged. "Oh well. Come on, let's get back to my skating lesson. If we keep standing here like this I'm going to get knocked down again, and this time I really _will_ take you down with me." she warned.

"Promises, promises." Remy teased, and moving to her side, took her arm. "Okay, let's try this again." he said, and they started off again. Around and around the rink they went. The music was totally teeny-bopper, which made Rogue wish for some ICP or Nine Inch Nails, but she supposed she could live with it. Remy kept her entertained by describing the antics of some of the other people in the rink, including when the kid who had knocked her over fell on his face from his buddies crashing into him. He also told her that she only kept his eye color for about half an hour, which she did find to be a relief. She really didn't need any grief from Candace; the woman was already annoyed enough from Remy's badgering to let Rogue stay for the weekend.

A couple of hours later, Rogue was tired but happy. Her behind was sore from having fallen down a few more times, but overall she was having a good time. They had taken a break at one point to sit down and have a drink while a limbo contest was going on. Rogue couldn't imagine trying to do that on skates. When the contest was over, everyone went back to skating and she continued to get more comfortable with it. She even skated solo a few times, with Remy next to her but not touching her. Finally they decided to call it a night; Remy said the drunks were coming in and were getting rowdy.

"So did you have a good time, _petite_?" he asked once they were back at the house. Ever the gentleman, he walked her to the spare bedroom on the first floor that Mercy had designated as being Rogue's.

"Yeah, I did." Rogue said with a smile. "Well, other than getting knocked down and being stuck with your thoughts again. I did have fun. Thank you."

"So you'll trust Remy next time he wants to take you somewhere?" he laughed.

"Argh, will you stop that?" she complained, and tried to swat him, but Remy moved out of the way. Instead she ended up smacking part of his coat.

"Why? It's too much fun seeing you get aggravated." Remy said, continuing to laugh.

"It really is lame." Rogue said, calming down as she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of aggravating her.

"You still didn't answer my question." Remy said. "Will you trust me next time I want to take you somewhere?"

"I'll think about it." she replied sweetly. "Now go to bed, Swamp Rat. You need your beauty sleep."

"The ladies already find me beautiful as it is, don't want to make it any worse." Remy said.

"Oh, just go to bed. I swear I don't know what to do with you some times." Rogue said, opening the bedroom door.

"Don't worry, I'll start a list." Remy said as he walked off. "Good night _petite._ I'll see you in the morning."

Rogue just shook her head and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Making her way to the bed, she found her overnight bag, and after making sure that the curtains were closed she took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She then climbed into the bed, which she discovered was bigger and a lot more comfortable than her bed back at the home. Instead of the dead silence she heard at night there, here the window was cracked open so she heard faint noises from outside; a light breeze going through trees, the occasional car going by and that dumb dog down the street barking every time one did go by. Then there were the occasional creaks of an old house. It was nice. She felt like she was in a real home again, instead of that place she just resided at. All in all it had been a good day; she had done well on her math test, she'd learned how to rollerskate...._Remy had kissed her forehead_....her mind traitorously threw in. Rogue ignored it. And best of all, her brother was coming to visit tomorrow and she'd have two days to spend with him.

Finally, with happy thoughts of the rest of the weekend going through her head, she fell asleep.

O-o-o-o-O


	25. Down At the Twist And Shout

O-o-o-o-O

When Rogue woke up Saturday morning the first thing she was aware of was the sound of birds. Disoriented at first, she realized after a moment that the birds were outside, and from that and the comfy bed she was in that she was at the LeBeau house. She smiled and stretched in the bed, just enjoying the peace of the morning. It was going to be a beautiful day. No dealing with the cafeteria's breakfast, which left a lot to be desired on Sarah's days off. Instead she'd have whatever yummy thing Tante Mattie cooked up. No dealing with Candace, instead she'd have Remy, Kurt and Ororo to hang out with this weekend. She had to admit though, the social worker hadn't been quite as hostile lately. She wasn't back to her old annoying self; instead she'd seemed rather smug about something, and Rogue was almost afraid to ask what that was. Whatever it was though, it would be alright; Rogue had an out if things started going in a bad direction, via Kurt and Professor Xavier. Just five more months until her birthday. Surely she'd be able to wait that out.

In the meantime though, she had a comfy bed, birds singing outside of her window, the promise of a delicious breakfast, the company of the LeBeau's, and her brother was coming to visit. She debated whether she wanted to get out of bed and reaching over, felt around until she found and pressed the large button on her alarm clock that she had brought with her for the weekend.

"_8:38am_"

....said the mechanical voice of the clock. Irene had given her the clock a few years ago, and Rogue still thought it was cool. The various buttons on it had Braille printing on them with voices to tell her what the functions were as she adjusted them, while the main button would have a voice tell her what time it was. Apparently it wasn't a common clock; she had shown it to Martine once, and her teacher had said that while she had seen several different types of clocks for blind people, she had never seen one like Rogue's. She also said that it must be a custom job as there were no manufacturer's markings on it. As for how it was powered, Irene had told her that the battery was guaranteed to last for the life of the clock; it would never need replacing. Martine's comments made Rogue curious as to where Irene had gotten the clock; unfortunately she had never thought to ask.

So it was after eight-thirty, so what? That was one of the beautiful things about weekends; being able to notice what time it was, roll over and go back to sleep. She was in no hurry to be anywhere. Rogue knew that Remy liked to sleep in, and besides, Kurt and Ororo wouldn't be arriving until noon anyway.

Rogue wasn't really tired anymore, so the rolling over and going back to sleep bit wasn't an option, but at the same time she wasn't quite ready to get up yet either. So she just lay for awhile, nestled under soft, clean-smelling sheets, and listened to the world around her. At first it was just the birds outside, and the occasional bark from the dog down the street as a car passed by. Gradually though, other noises made themselves known. From somewhere upstairs the sound of water going through pipes told Rogue that at least someone else was up; probably either Tante Mattie or Henri. According to Remy they were both morning people. Eventually she started to hear movement on the ground floor though, and decided to get up. Rogue was getting hungry and while she was pretty comfortable with the first floor of the house, she didn't really know the kitchen well enough to feel comfortable trying to make herself breakfast. That was something she still missed about home; she and Irene kept everything in the same places so they'd always know where things were; Carla knew not to change things, and would tell them where things were when she had gone shopping. Rogue could go into the kitchen whenever she wanted and find herself something to eat. Unfortunately she wouldn't be going back to that any time soon. Residents weren't allowed in the kitchen at the home. She doubted it would be any different at Kurt and Ororo's school; with so many kids around it would be impossible to keep things in the same place. After she graduated though, maybe she could get herself a place of her own; a little apartment all to herself where she could have everything exactly where she wants it and make her own breakfast, instead of getting up and asking whoever was awake to do it for her, as she was about to do.

Rogue got out of bed and grabbing her overnight bag off of the floor, felt around in it for a pair of jeans and one of the light linen blouses that Mercy had bought her. The fabric was soft and comfortable against her skin, almost silky, and she stroked her hands down her arms before putting on her gloves. She took her cane and made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear voices and the sound of dishes.

"Good morning." Rogue said from the doorway, not sure who was there.

"Good morning Rogue." came Tante Mattie's voice. "Do you want something to drink? Remy, start the kettle." she said, not bothering to wait for her to answer, and Rogue bit her lip to keep from smiling. _Poor Remy, always the kitchen help_.

"Tea, please." Rogue said, and made her way to the table; Tante already had her slave labor for the morning so she didn't offer to help. But Rogue had done her turn in the kitchen before; Tante would sometimes have her wash dishes, snap beans, shell peas or do other tasks that didn't involve knives. And she didn't mind at all; it was just one more thing about being here that helped her feel normal again.

"I thought you didn't like mornings, Swamp Rat." she commented when Remy handed her a cup of tea a few minutes later. She had been listening to the anchorman read off the morning news on the little television that Tante Mattie liked to keep in the kitchen.

"I don't." Remy said as he moved away from her. "Tante decided since I have guests coming I should be awake."

"But Kurt and Ororo won't be here until noon." Rogue said, taking a sip of her tea. Remy had remembered just how she liked it.

"Yes, but we're having slow-cooked ham for dinner tonight so he's starting it now." Tante Mattie said. "How do you want your eggs, Rogue?"

"Scrambled, please." she replied. "Is there any more of that melon left over from yesterday?" Mercy, in an effort to be a little more health-conscious, had started asking that Mattie include more fruit and less meat with breakfast. There was some resistance at first, but after showing her the latest heart attack statistics Mattie had relented. She still insisted on cooking with butter though, and no one had argued with her on that, especially not Rogue. Sarah and the other cooks at the home used margarine, and it just wasn't nearly as good.

Rogue was halfway through her eggs when she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen.

"G'morning my _famile_." Came Emil's cheerful voice.

"Hail the conquering pool shark." Remy commented sarcastically. "And how much money did the boys lose last night?"

Emil laughed. "Etienne's getting better; he didn't lose nearly as much as last time we played. Claude said he was going to work some overtime tonight to make up for what he lost."

"I thought Claude said he wasn't going to play with you anymore?" Rogue asked. One of the many things that she had learned over her time with the LeBeau's was to not play pool with Emil; the only person in the family who was equal to him in the game was Remy.

"He did." Remy said. "But he says that every time they play pool. The man's a glutton for punishment."

"I'm not complaining." Emil said as he moved past Rogue.

Henri and Jean-Luc came in a few minutes later; according to Henri, Mercy was still asleep. He was telling Rogue about the funny movie they had seen last night when the sound on the television suddenly went up.

"Listen to this Rogue." said Remy.

"_....as originally reported last night, the Louisiana state legislature is now considering a law requiring registration of any mutants in state custody, including prisons and the foster system. DNA and other testing will be done to document the abilities of these individuals, and their names will be kept in a database for the public record. Alan Lewis, founder of the group Friends of Humanity, spoke out in favor of this legislation: '_The people have the right to know what their money is being used for. They have the right to know if their tax money is being used to house and feed mutants. The system already lets dangerous criminals free through early release. Are some of these criminals possibly dangerous mutants who could cause even more harm to the public? The people have the right to know. I applaud the state of Louisiana for considering this measure. I only hope they do the right thing and pass it into law, and that the federal government follows their example, and extends it to all mutants.' _ Opponents are calling this a test run in an eventual demand for a law requiring registration of all mutants. There is not expected to be any word on this legislation for at least another two weeks. Stay tuned to this station for further updates."_

"They can't do that, that's ridiculous." Emil said in disbelief.

Rogue just sat with her mouth open. They wanted to test her and catalog her?

"Sure they can." Henri said bitterly. "All they have to do is mention public tax dollars and people will let them do whatever they want."

"And who's going to do this testing? The government of course." Remy said, the anger apparent in his voice. "When they find out what some of these mutants can do, when it's public record, what's to stop the military from stepping in? Ororo said there's been evidence of experimentation on mutants; one of the teachers at her school was even experimented on by the government. When they get this info, what's to stop them from taking some of these mutants?"

_Especially someone like me_ Rogue thought to herself, and a light bulb went off in her head.

"THAT'S why she's been sounding so damn smug!" she said out loud, and the room fell silent. Tante Mattie didn't even reprimand her for swearing at the table.

"Candace." Rogue continued. "She's been sounding smug about something for days now, hasn't even been getting after me that much. She _knew_ this was coming. I don't know how, but somehow she had to have known."

"How could she know that though?" Henri asked.

"She's one of them." said Remy in a tight voice. "The Friends of Humanity. She had one of their brochures on her desk one day when I went to see her and she was at a meeting that Ororo and I went to."

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Rogue demanded. Remy was usually so honest with her about things, why wouldn't he tell her something like this?

"For what purpose? It's not like you can do anything about her, so we didn't see any point in worrying you." Remy shot back.

"_We._ Did you tell Kurt too?" Rogue asked, hating the idea of being the only one not in the loop, even if Remy was right in that she couldn't do anything. She still preferred to _know._

Remy sighed. "No. He was already upset enough about you deciding to stay here, I didn't want him flipping out on us if he heard about Candace."

Remy was right about about that too, Rogue agreed. Kurt would flip out. He had taken on the role of big brother very quickly and very seriously; her eighteenth birthday was still several months out but he was already counting the days until she left New Orleans and joined him in New York. And even though he was only about seven years older he still considered himself to be her guardian in a way, being her oldest known relative, although she was technically a ward of the state. As close as they were becoming, Rogue wished he would lighten up a little. Despite her physical age, she wasn't a child. She admit though, it was nice to have someone care about her like that. Between Kurt, Remy, Ororo and the LeBeau's, she no longer felt alone in the world.

"We need to tell him." Rogue said finally. "He really will flip out if he finds out we kept this from him."

"You're right." Remy said. "We can tell him when they get here later."

"I hate to say this Rogue." Henri broke in, "but as much as we all love having you here, perhaps you should speak to Professor Xavier and see if he can start the process to transfer guardianship to him? If this law passes it might be a bad idea to wait until your birthday to go to New York."

Rogue thought about this. Yes, the idea of this law passing made her very nervous; it had trouble written all over it, but she just couldn't get herself to leave New Orleans yet. She wanted more time with her new friends, and if she was honest with herself, more time with Remy. She wasn't sure if the soon to be Mrs. Lebeau would be too keen on her new husband making trips to New York to visit a female friend, so Rogue needed to enjoy her time with him while she could.

"No, I'd rather wait until my birthday." Rogue said. "Besides, I don't think they'll pass this law. The state couldn't be that stupid; mutants have rights just like anyone else. They can't catalog us like animals"

"Believe me, they could." Jean-Luc said. "The anti-mutant movement has attracted some very rich, powerful people, and money buys power, even over those who would otherwise act with more sense. I would suggest keeping Xavier's offer in mind."

"I will, but for now I want to stay in New Orleans." Rogue said, finishing her breakfast, which had gotten cold during the discussion.

"I'm glad to hear that; is someone trying to make you leave?" came Mercy's voice, sounding a bit sleepy.

"The state of Louisiana is trying to pass something requiring mutants in state custody to be tested and registered. We think it could be a step towards locking people up." Remy said in disgust.

"Bastards." Mercy muttered. As she passed by Rogue, she stopped and squeezed the younger woman's shoulder gently. "Don't worry girl, they're crazy if they think they'll get their hands on you."

"They already have their hands on me." Rogue said. "At least for the next five months. It's just a matter of waiting to see what they decide to do with me."

"We'll get you out of here if they pass that thing. Won't we Remy?" Mercy said.

"_Oui._ Your brother will have that super jet of his down here so fast it'll make your head spin." Remy.

"See? No problem. Now where's the coffee? They'll be down here in a couple of hours and I want to be awake when I meet your brother." Mercy said.

"On the counter, where it usually is." Remy said. Rogue heard him sit down next to her.

"Mercy's right." he said quietly. "We'll get you out of here if those idiots pass that law."

"Sure." Rogue said. "Then they'll have you right back in jail again for kidnapping, and I doubt they'd agree to community service this time. No, if I have to leave I'll have my brother come get me. Xavier's got all kinds of lawyers and stuff; he should be able to keep Kurt from getting in trouble."

"Okay. It's good to have a backup plan though, just in case." Remy said.

"Thanks." Rogue said with a little smile. "Since we've got a couple of hours before Kurt and Ororo get here, I should probably do some homework. Martine wants that essay on _Paradise Lost_ done by Monday."

"Blech." Remy said. "I thought that was one of the most boring things I ever read."

"I know. Satan was probably the most interesting character in the whole thing; it was pretty sad." Rogue said. "Oh well, I'll be in the library." She got up from the table, took her plate and brought it over to the sink, where she rinsed it off before leaving it. The she headed off to the library.

O-o-o-o-O

It wasn't until around twelve-thirty that Kurt and Ororo arrived. Remy leaned against Mercy's car and watched as the super jet, as he and Rogue now called it, landed on the runway at the little airport they used. They had spent the last half hour trying to talk about anything but that news report from this morning. Rogue seemed nervous about it, not unbelievably so though; but Remy had to admit to himself that he was scared. Not just for Rogue, although that was a big part of it, but for mutants in general. After the anti-mutant groups he and Ororo had visited and the hatred he had seen in the faces at the Friends of Humanity rally, he was quite confident that that law would be passed. Rogue and other mutants like her would be gathered up, tested and cataloged, a public record for any anti-mutant group or government agency to see and target. From there it was only a matter of time before it was spread out to include mutants in the general public. Unlike Rogue, Remy had little hope that the Louisiana state legislature would see sense in this matter. They would have to deal with things as they happened though. He had been serious this morning; he knew his father would do whatever he could to help, but he'd drive her out of the state himself if he had to. And if he couldn't for some reason, he knew that Rogue's brother would move heaven and earth to save his sister.

As much as he hated to admit it, Henri may be right in suggesting that Rogue get out of town while she can. He had felt a selfish pleasure though when she had said that she wanted to stay in New Orleans. He didn't want her to go, and the idea of her possibly leaving sooner than expected just hit home to him how much he would miss her. He enjoyed seeing her every day, and even on the weekends where she didn't come to visit he found part of himself looking forward to Monday. And it wasn't that he was bored on the weekends or didn't have anything to do; on the contrary, Belle was over every weekend and a couple of times during the week, going over wedding plans and just spending time with him. She was even looking at houses for when they were able to move out on their own. Remy always enjoyed seeing her, but the times when she and Rogue were in the house at the same time were very uncomfortable; Rogue's animosity towards his fiancee was understandable, as Belle was barely civil to her when they were together, but Belle's rudeness drove Remy nuts. He had told her several times that he was faithful to her, that he and Rogue were just friends, and they were. Neither of them had ever acted in anything other than a platonic manner towards each other, or indicated that they wanted to. He supposed that the little kiss on the forehead he had given her last night _might_ be construed as slightly less than platonic by others, especially if they were wanting to see it that way, but Remy considered it innocent. He still wasn't sure exactly why he had done it, it had just seemed like a good idea at the time. Despite the physical separation from others that her mutation demanded, Rogue needed touch just like anyone else. Yes he had wanted her to have information last night, but he had also wanted it to be seen as a kind gesture, that he wanted to touch her, that he wasn't afraid of what she could do to him. And he hoped she had understood that. He thought maybe she had, at the very least she had seemed more disconcerted than angry with him last night, he recalled with a smug little smile. Remy liked being able to bring out reactions like that in her. Was that really the thought of a friend though? He wasn't entirely sure, but he remembered liking to do the same thing to Belle.

For now though, the hatch on the super jet was opening and he could see Ororo stepping out of the plane. Kurt was right behind her, talking to the same young man in sunglasses that had flown Ororo down the last time. Remy now knew that the young man's name was Scott, and that those sunglasses protected others from the fiery blasts that came from his eyes. _Talk about looking at the world through rose-colored glasses_ Remy thought to himself. He definitely didn't envy him that mutation though. Like Rogue, Scott was stuck hiding part of himself to protect others. But he seemed to deal with it alright; Kurt had said that Scott was a teacher and student leader at the Xavier Academy, and respected among the students, even if he had a reputation for being uptight. Remy remembered with amusement the words "stick up his ass" being used in relation to Scott Summers on more than one occasion in their conversations.

The personality-challenged young man waved at them from the plane, then went back inside after Kurt and Ororo had stepped off the ramp. Once they were clear from the plane, it taxied slowly away then shot off down the runway. Remy watched in envy; he didn't know how to fly a plane, but he'd learn if he could get to fly something like that.

Arriving at the car, Ororo gave Remy a kiss on the cheek while Kurt caught his sister up in a big hug. Remy grinned; she was always caught off guard by people touching her.

"It's so good to see you again." Kurt said, not letting go of Rogue. Remy was happy to see her wrap her arms around her brother and hug him back.

"How are you Remy?" Ororo asked smiling. "Have you been behaving yourself?"

"_No._" Rogue said, finally letting go of Kurt. "He made me go _rollerskating _last night. I swear I bruised my tail bone falling on my butt."

"Hey, I didn't _make_ you go." Remy protested.

"Well you helped. It was peer pressure, I swear the whole family ganged up on me." Rogue said.

Kurt looked like he was trying not to laugh. Instead he just took his and Ororo's bags and started to put them in the trunk of the car.

"Well I think it's good for you to get out more. You seem to rarely go anywhere other than Remy's house." Ororo said.

"We went to the pottery class at the museum last week." Rogue said.

"Yeah, I've still got clay in my favorite shirt." Remy said, opening the car door for Rogue.

"Hey, that's your own fault; you shouldn't have worn it knowing we were going to that class." Rogue said.

"It would have been fine if you hadn't thrown clay at me."

"That was a pretty good shot, wasn't it?" Rogue grinned as she got into the car. "I wasn't sure if I'd hit you. It's still your fault though; you're the one who made that comment about cementing my mouth shut."

"At it again as usual." Ororo laughed after getting into the car. She sat in the front seat while Rogue and Kurt sat together in the back. The drive back to the house was fun, with Kurt and Ororo telling about the latest antics of the students at the academy. In particular, Kurt was trying to avoid the crush that one of the girls, Kitty, had on him. Remy thought it was funny.

"Wow. This is a great place." Kurt said once they had arrived at the house. "Doesn't Anne Rice live in this neighborhood?"

"Yeah, not too far from here." Remy said. "But I don't know how she is about visitors."

"Oh well." Kurt shrugged. "I still think it's cool."

"You read Anne Rice?" Rogue asked. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a vampire fan."

"Actually I liked _The Mummy_ the best." Kurt said. "Ramses is a really smooth character. But Lestat's okay too."

Remy showed the two to their rooms upstairs while Rogue went to the kitchen to help Tante Mattie put together lunch. He had been surprised at first that they were having separate rooms, considering they had been together for so long, but Ororo had explained to him that as a Catholic Kurt didn't believe in sex before marriage, and she respected that. Remy thought it a little crazy, especially when he had a girlfriend as beautiful as Ororo, but ultimately he respected it also. It showed the depth of the respect and affection Kurt had for her, and that he had long term plans for their relationship if he was willing to wait. He was glad Ororo had someone to love her like that. And that it was Rogue's brother made it even better.

They ate lunch with the rest of the family. Tante Mattie made fried chicken, despite Mercy's suggestion of something healthier like salad with shrimp. Tante had insisted that their guests needed to have some good traditional Southern food while they were here, and Remy agreed. Of course that was mainly due to the fact that he would never say no to his Tante's chicken.

"Come on _chere_." he said as they ate. "You gotta admit, it'd be a crime to let Rogue's brother and his girlfriend leave without trying Tante's chicken."

"Yes, it's good....." Mercy said reluctantly.

"It's the best." Remy broke in, and Kurt nodded eagerly.

"Alright, it's the best. But I still say our arteries will pay for this later on." Mercy finished, licking her fingers as she finished her chicken leg.

"We all gotta die of something." Rogue said, reaching carefully onto the platter to grab another piece.

Ororo just quietly ate her chicken breast. Remy found it amazing that someone could eat fried chicken as neatly as she did.

"Did you guys bring your swimsuits?" Mercy asked. "I thought we'd play in the pool after lunch."

"Yeah, Rogue suggested bringing them." Ororo said.

"Cool. Rogue, you can borrow one of mine." Mercy said.

"Are you sure about this? I thought I'd just get a little sun and read a book." Rogue said uncertainly. "All of us in there with me just in a regular bathing suit is asking for an accident."

"It's okay." Mercy said. "I can't speak for Remy here, but I know the rest of us are smart enough to be careful around you. I think you'll be alright."

"Hey, I've been careful." Remy said, hoping that Rogue wouldn't say anything about last night. And even with last night, he thought he had been careful. He had only touched her briefly.

"I suppose." Rogue said.

"Great. I'll go grab one of my suits." Mercy said, and took her plate up to the sink.

"I'm gonna go play Grand Theft Auto with Emil. I've been shedding a little with the hot weather, and I don't want to get fur in your pool." Kurt said a bit sheepishly.

Remy bit back a grin at the image of Blue Boy shedding. Emil just laughed; Kurt had shown them what he looked like without the image inducer.

"Oh man, that's funny. I can just picture bits of blue fur floating in the pool." he said.

Kurt made a face. "It's embarrassing."

"Come on Rogue, let's go." Mercy said, grinning. Rogue joined her a minute later, followed by Ororo, and the three left to find swimsuits. Kurt and Emil left a few minutes later to go play video games, leaving Remy and Henri to clean up as Tante was going grocery shopping and Jean-Luc didn't do dishes if there was any way to avoid it.

About half an hour later everyone gathered at the pool, minus Kurt and Emil, who were hanging out in the living room happily involved in car chases and violent crime. The two had gotten along right off the bat with their mutual love of bad jokes and video games. Remy was sitting on the side of the pool in a pair of swim trunks, splashing his feet in the water when Mercy, Ororo and Rogue came out. Mercy looked good as usual in a tiny black bikini, Ororo was wearing a green suit that looked lovely against her dark skin, but Rogue was what had his mouth hanging open, and he shut it quickly, hoping no one had noticed. She was just wearing a simple black one piece suit, but he had never seen so much skin exposed on her before. She was beautiful. Remy's pulse sped up and he tried to will it to stop; this was his best friend, he wasn't supposed to be reacting to her like this. He kept himself from saying anything, afraid that he'd betray what she was doing to him.

_I'm an engaged man, damnit. _He thought to himself, but all he could do was admire the way the sun shone on her dark hair as she carefully approached the pool area.

"Give me your gloves and cane Rogue." Mercy said. "I'll put them on the table."

Rogue handed the items carefully to Mercy, and hugged her arms around herself, looking very self-conscious. Remy wasn't surprised; she probably hadn't shown so much to skin to anyone in years, she had to be nervous.

Remy watched Rogue move cautiously as Mercy verbally guided her into the pool.

"Where's Remy?" Rogue asked once she was in the water.

"I'm over here, _petite._" he said. She was a few yards away from him to the left.

"You've got plenty of room to swim on your own." he said, and slipped down into the water. Mercy joined Henri on the other side of the pool, where they started teasing and splashing each other, while Ororo was a little ways away from them, floating in the water.

Rogue seemed to relax a bit upon hearing this, and felt her way along the edge of the pool a little before stretching out to float. She smiled, her pretty, empty eyes closed for the moment.

"This feels wonderful." She said.

"I know." Remy agreed. "I'm going to do some laps." He set off around the pool, the movement through the water feeling very good. After five laps, he stopped to rest against the side of the pool. Rogue had apparently become comfortable enough to do some swimming of her own, and the others were careful to keep clear of her when she headed in their direction.

A little later the four of them started a game of pool volleyball while Rogue relaxed against the side of the pool out of the way. Remy felt bad at not being able to invite her to play, but she didn't seem to mind so they went ahead and had their game. After about another hour or so of play, they all got out of the pool and hung out for awhile in lounge chairs while they dried off in the sun. Mercy and Ororo put on tanning oil and sunglasses. Rogue just closed her eyes and stretched out in her chair.

"_Chere_, did you put on sunscreen before you came out here?" Remy asked, looking over her very fair skin.

"Yeah, it's okay." She said.

"Good." Remy said, and laid back to work on his tan.

After they were done at the pool, Remy, Rogue, Ororo, Henri and Mercy all took showers and gathered in the living room to see what Kurt and Emil were up to. They had abandoned GTA and were wrapped up in an NBA basketball video game.

"You know, there's a perfectly good hoop outside." Remy commented, sitting down on the floor next to Rogue's feet. She was on the couch with Ororo, while Henri and Mercy were curled up in one of the armchairs together. Remy had noticed that they seemed awfully cozy lately, and he wondered if maybe they were trying to make him an uncle. He thought that would be a great idea; he'd get to spoil the kid rotten, and drive his brother and sister in law nuts in the process.

"Yeah, but out there we can't be these guys." Kurt said, pointing out the big name stars in the game.

Emil nodded. "Besides, this guy can teleport. He'd cheat."

"I would not!" Kurt protested, but Remy didn't think he looked very innocent.

"Oh please." Ororo said. "Every time we have a 'no powers' game, you always end up all over the court."

Kurt at least had the sense to look embarrassed. "Heh, can't help it sometimes _liebchen_." he said.

"Riiiiiiight." his girlfriend rolled her eyes.

"So, how are things up north? Has that doctor of yours had any new ideas about Rogue's mutation?" Mercy asked.

"Not really." Kurt said, half of his attention still on the game. "Professor Xavier said he wanted to explore the possibility of it being psychic though. He wants to have some mental sessions when Rogue comes up in November."

"What, is he going to have her like, meditate or something?" Mercy asked.

"I don't know." Kurt said. "He'll probably go into her mind and check things out in there, see what makes her brain tick and if it has anything to do with her power."

"If anyone needs their head checked out, it's Remy." Henri said. "I'd love to know what makes his brain tick."

"You sure about that?" asked his wife.

"He'd have to have one first." Rogue said smugly.

"That's not nice." Remy pouted, feeling a little ganged up on.

"Never said I was." Rogue replied. "I'm really not too crazy about the idea of someone going through my head, but if it helps me out in the end, I'm all for it."

"Why doesn't he just make a device or something to control her power? He had your image thing made, right Kurt?" Emil asked.

"It's a little more complicated than what I've got." Kurt said. "The image inducer is relatively easy compared to what Rogue would need. We don't have anyone who can do something like that."

"Well, we did, but nobody has seen him in awhile." Ororo said. "Forge could build almost anything. His mutation makes him a technological genius."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, but he disappeared about two years ago. It's too bad; if anyone could make something to block powers, he probably could. He's a pretty cool guy, I liked him."

Remy frowned. "No idea on what happened to him at all? It sounds like we could really use him."

Ororo shook her head. "No, not a trace. He does some work for the government, but they've found no sign of him either.

"That stinks." Rogue said. "I'd rather do that than have someone in my head."

"I don't know about that. Psychic control on your own would likely be more permanent than any device. Besides, devices can break or get lost." Ororo said.

"Maybe." Rogue conceded. "But I've already got enough people inside my head, I don't need any more."

"Well it's rather a moot point anyway, with Forge missing in action." Kurt said. "I'd say the Professor would be your best bet at this point."

Rogue sighed. "You're probably right."

After watching Kurt and Emil play for awhile, Mercy insisted that they put in a movie, so the rest of the afternoon was spent watching bad Monty Python flicks. Even without being able to see the movie, Rogue still seemed to find the verbal jokes funny enough to enjoy herself. Eventually Remy excused himself to go check on dinner, and cooked vegetables while Tante Mattie made biscuits to go with the ham that Remy had had in the slow cooker all day. Everything came out delicious, and Remy basked in the compliments that he received from his family and guests.

After dinner Rogue listened to the news for her current events discussion on Monday with Martine, until it was time to get ready to go out. Some people dressed up to go to the dance halls, but Remy and his family had always dressed pretty casually. Apparently Mercy had told Rogue this, because she came out in jeans and and one of her light, pretty crotcheted tops.

"You look lovely, _chere._" He told her, and he was pleased to see her blush.

"Thanks." Rogue said. "So you ready to show off what a great dancer you are?"

"Of course. Remy'll dance rings around his brother." he grinned.

Ororo joined them in the foyer when he said this.

"Why on earth are you talking like that?" she asked in confusion.

"Oh, Remy decided that he sounds cool talking in third person." Rogue said, looking disgusted. "Could you please tell him how lame he sounds?"

"It does sound pretty weird." Ororo said.

Remy just rolled his eyes. "You _femmes_ just have no sense of style."

"Whatever. Let's just go." Rogue said.

Kurt and Ororo rode in Mercy's car with her, Henri and Emil, while Remy took Rogue on his bike. The dance hall was starting to fill up when they arrive, and the local zydeco band that was playing tonight was already in full swing. He had Rogue's arm tucked in his, with her cane folded up as she'd more than likely be whacking people all over the place by accident. She didn't complain though; they had been to plenty of places where it was just easier for Remy to guide her.

"Don't forget to save me a dance Rogue." Emil said, and squeezed her free hand before taking off to find himself a partner. Henri paired up with Ororo and Mercy paired up with Kurt in order to teach them how to do the dance, leaving Remy and Rogue at the table the group had commandeered for themselves.

"So, _chere_." Remy said. "You gonna come dance with me?"

"I suppose." Rogue smiled. "Since everyone else has abandoned me to you."

"Oh you know you'd rather have me teach you than those other guys." Remy said teasingly.

"If you say so Remy." Rogue replied condescendingly. "Come on then, show me your stuff."

Remy grinned and led her onto the dance floor. Finding a relatively quiet spot, he went through the steps with her; and while she was very awkward at first, she gradually caught on and as long as he didn't go too fast, she could keep up with him. Eventually they joined the rest of the crowd on the floor and he was dancing her around the room to the bright, infectious beat.

"You having fun?" he asked between songs.

"Definitely." Rogue smiled. "I have to admit, you're not a bad dancer."

"Ah, but you haven't danced with my cousin yet." Remy said. "Once you've danced with Emil, you'll appreciate how good I am." He looked around the room and saw Emil dancing with a pretty red head, her hair almost as bright as his own. Kurt and Ororo were dancing together now, and it looked like they had picked up the steps pretty easily, while his brother and Mercy were at the bar having a drink.

A couple of songs later Emil came over to borrow Rogue for the next dance, so Remy danced with his sister in law.

"You two are adorable together you know." she said while they danced.

"Don't you start too." Remy groaned. "Your husband has already insinuated the same thing. Rogue and I are just friends. Besides, in case you've forgotten, I'm supposed to be bringing peace to our family by marrying Belle."

"And how many times have political marriages really brought peace to warring families, or countries for that matter?" Mercy asked. "I know you think you love Belle, but don't sacrifice your life and happiness for us. There's got to be another way to stop the feud with the Assassins."

"But I do love Belle." Remy said. And he did. He was prepared to commit to her. It was just that when he looked at Rogue............and he just really enjoyed her company.......it made him want to beat his head against a wall. He didn't want Mercy and his brother to be right. Rogue was his _friend_. He didn't want anything to complicate that, or to complicate the life he was preparing to make with Belle. This was as much for his family as it was for himself. The deaths and injuries that have occurred over the years, they had to stop. And nobody could think of any other way to do it.

"Maybe you do." Mercy said. "But are you sure this isn't obligation more than anything else? You just seem so much happier with Rogue."

"It's a bit of both." Remy admitted. "But even if I did feel that way, it wouldn't matter. She's going to New York in November to be with her family, her only family. And I love my family and New Orleans too much to leave. It would never work."

Mercy shook her head before Remy swung her into a spin. "I know I'm biased since I can't stand Belle, but it just seems like a mistake."

"You'll have to get over it." Remy said. "Belle and I are getting married. Now let's talk about something else."

"Fine." Mercy replied.

After finishing the dance with his sister in law, he danced with Ororo once before going to the bar for a drink. He sat at the table and watched as Rogue had another dance with Emil, where he amazingly enough didn't seem to be stepping on her feet, and then danced with Henri before Kurt collected her for a dance. It was a waltz, and Remy enjoyed himself watching Rogue laugh at something her brother said while he twirled her around the floor. When they finished, Remy decided that since she had danced with the guys that he could have her back to himself again.

A violin began the sweet strains of another waltz as Remy approached Kurt and Rogue.

"Mind if I get another dance in with your sister?" he asked.

"Go for it." Kurt said. "I"m going to go get a soda." Then he walked off.

"Thank you so much for asking me to dance, Remy." Rogue said sarcastically.

Remy just grinned. "I was just being polite. Isn't it customary to ask the male for permission to cut in?"

"Yeah, but this is the twenty-first century. You're supposed to ask the woman these days."

"Fine, fine. _ Desole chere_. Come on, dance with me, please. The song's getting away from us." Remy said, and took her hand.

"I suppose." Rogue shrugged and clasping his hand, found his arm and slid her free hand up to his shoulder. Remy put his hand on her waist and guided her into the waltz, ignoring how happy he felt to have her this close.

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue fought back a smile as she and Remy danced; yes, it would have been more polite for him to ask her rather than her brother for the dance, but she was just having a hard time staying annoyed at him tonight, she was having such a good time. Henri was an excellent dancer, and even though her brother was just learning, he had been pretty good. Even Emil wasn't as bad as everyone said he was; he had gone a little fast and she had had to work to keep up, but he didn't step on her toes once and they had rarely bumped into each other. It was nice to go back to Remy though; she was more comfortable with him than the others. It was especially nice going through a waltz with him now. His hand felt comfortable on her waist and he guided her smoothly around the floor.

"Spin." he warned, and she spun once before he caught her around the waist again. This time though his hand ended up further around her, and she ended up brushing against his chest before he began moving again. He didn't make any attempt to back away from her, and she was having a hard time remembering how to breathe, feeling Remy so close to her. He was close enough that she could almost rest her head on his shoulder, but she didn't dare. She couldn't accept that she might possibly be feeling anything other than friendship for the man who was supposed to be just her court-appointed companion, regardless of how fast her heart was going right now, and even if she could accept the idea, Remy was in love with another woman and would be married in another 3 weeks. She could never say a word, it would be absolutely humiliating and would make things awfully uncomfortable between them.

Then Remy's arm slipped a little further around her waist and Rogue found herself just a little bit closer to him; she could feel the top of her head lightly brush against his chin. _Oh god......_ she thought to herself, trying to ignore it. Did he even realize what he was doing? He just couldn't. Rogue couldn't bring herself to say anything though or move away from him; she didn't know if she'd ever be this close to him again, she'd never been so close to any man other than her brother and she didn't want to stop before the song ended.

Remy's arm moved just a little bit closer around her.......

_Oh god........I'm in so much trouble......_ Rogue thought to herself as she couldn't help herself from letting her head rest carefully on his shoulder. She could faintly smell his cologne, something lightly spicy, and made herself relax as they moved.

_I'm in sooo much trouble._

O-o-o-o-O

Taking a large swig from his glass of whiskey, Julien Boudreaux watched as Remy LeBeau danced closely with someone other than his sister. They looked quite cozy together, the Thief and his little blind girl, and Julien smirked cruelly. One more foot deeper into the grave he was digging for his future brother in law. It was too bad Bella wasn't here tonight to see it; she was on a girl's night out at the clubs with some of the other female Assassins. She didn't like the traditional Cajun music anyway. Julien remembered the argument she'd had with their father when Marius said that he wanted a zydeco band at the wedding reception.

Julien liked it, but right now he was sitting at the far end of the bar with a drink while his date danced with someone else. He tried to remember her name; Ann, or Angel, or something like that. Angela, that was it. She was the daughter of one of his father's business associates, and while she was pretty, and a nice girl, he wasn't interested in nice. He usually tried to avoid the nice girls because he wasn't a _complete_ bastard. If he tried to show any interest he knew he would just be leading them on, and he didn't want to do that. His father had asked him to take Angela out and show her a good time though, so he would; he would just make sure to not seem like it was anything more than that. He was glad she was a brunette; she had pretty brown hair that fell past her shoulders. He didn't date blondes, never a blonde. A blonde girl would just be too much like his sister. He knew he was sick, and he would never allow himself anyone who could have even a slight resemblance to Bella; he would never allow himself even the fantasy of her. That could tempt him to think that he could........and he would never touch her.

He looked down at the drink in his hand and took another sip. The approaching wedding was making him more frustrated, and the almost continual ache in his heart stronger; he now found himself drinking more often than he was used to, and at odd times of the day. It probably wasn't a good idea, but he just couldn't help himself. Thankfully one of the other Assassins was here tonight, so he wouldn't have to worry about driving.

In the meantime though, Julien now had more information to feed his sister. Over the past month or so he had been dripping verbal poison into Bella's ears regarding her upcoming marriage to the Thief. He had also seen her fiance and his companion out and about occasionally, and they looked very happy together. _Such an adorable couple, _he thought sarcastically to himself. He'd prefer Remy LeBeau six feet under, but even if he just ended up with this other girl he could live with that, as long as he was away from Bella. And this was good ammo; they were dancing way too close to be seen as just friends. Julien smiled to himself. His _petit soeur_ would have a fit.

When the song ended, Julien tossed back the rest of his whiskey and stood up to go find Angela. He figured he should have a couple of more dances with his date before the night was over. Then he'd go home and tell a nice little story to his sister.

It looked like it was going to be a good night after all.


	26. Interlude: Once Upon A Time

AN: I didn't expect to be able to have this out so soon but I was too excited at finally being able to write it.

And now for something completely different......

O-o-o-o-O

_Somewhere in upstate New York........._

O-o-o-o-O

"_What do we have here?"_

"_Car accident, Doc. Jeep vs brick building. Building won. No sign of broken bones or injury other than some cuts and possible head trauma. The guy was lucky; he wore his seat belt."_

"_Right. Paula, start taking info. Native American male, mid to late forties, height looks to be around six feet. No ID on him."_

"_There's no registration in the car, and the VIN's been scratched out. The plates are probably stolen. I'll contact police to check for any reports of theft."_

"_Good lord, what the hell is this?! Paula, take this down. Patient seems to have lost his right hand and leg; replaced by some sort of robotic limbs. I've never seen anything like it."_

"_Sheesh. That's freaky, Doc. Do you think he's one of those mutants?"_

"_I don't know, Matt. Even if he is, we still have to treat him. We have no legal right to turn him away. Besides, it doesn't look like he's going anywhere any time soon. Paula, you start on those cuts and I'll check out his head."_

"_Yes Doctor."_

O-o-o-o-O

The first thing he was aware of was that his head ached. Actually, pounding was a much better description. It started out as a throbbing in the front of his head and just spread out from there. He groaned, and shifted. It was then that he noticed that he seemed to be laying down and that over half of his body ached. _Apparently moving isn't such a good idea._ He thought to himself.

His next thought was, _Where the hell am I?_ He supposed he should open his eyes, but he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for that yet, so he left them closed and tried to assess his situation.

_Last thing I remember, I was driving..... Oh God, wherever I am, I've gotta get out of here....they'll be coming......_

It was this thought that made him decide to open his eyes. He didn't know where he was, or how much time had passed; they may have gotten ahead of him, or maybe they've found him and he was right back where he had started.

Finally opening his eyes, he found himself staring up at a ceiling; the white, commercial type of ceiling patterned with all those funky shaped little holes that gave a person something to count if they were really, really bored. The kind found in offices. Or hospitals.

Not finding anything else of much use on the ceiling, he took the plunge and turned his head. To his left he saw a chair, small table, and medical equipment that included a heart monitor. He was apparently in a hospital. That was good. He supposed that he had been in an accident, probably while he was driving; which _wasn't_ good but definitely better than the alternative of having been recaptured. He didn't even want to think about that. It was a lucky chance that he had been able to get out; he wasn't sure he'd be able to manage it again if they took him back.

A sound from the doorway made him turn his head in the other direction.

"I see you're awake." said a woman in the doorway wearing a nurse's uniform. She looked to be in her mid thirties and had a calm voice.

"Unfortunately." he muttered. "Where am I? What happened?" he knew those were the usual questions people asked, but they were the usual questions for a good reason.

"You're at County Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York. My name is Paula. You were in a car accident; apparently you lost control of your car while going around a steep curve and hit a building head on."

He decided not to mention that it wasn't really his car, but he figured the nurse already knew that if they had done any investigating, which they definitely would have done since he didn't have any sort of ID on him. His driver's license and Department of Defense badge were back at the place he'd recently left. Unfortunately his copies were back home in Dallas, as he hadn't expected to be stranded in New York. It didn't really leave him with a lot of options. He could call his coworkers at the DoD, but he didn't have the time to waste going through the questions and debriefings he'd be subjected to. He supposed once he got out of here he could go to Xavier, but that was probably very high up on the list of places they'd look for him, and despite everything that had happened he still felt uncomfortable getting Charles involved in this. This was _his_ mess; he'd take care of it, like he should have done years ago.

He never should have listened to her. Yes, he'd had every reason to believe that she was right, but he should have ignored her warnings, taken what was his and gotten the hell out of there. He didn't though. And now he was paying for it. _She_ was probably paying for it. It had been so long, anything could have happened by now.

"So what's wrong with me, other than the massive headache I've got?" he asked finally.

"Well, other than a mild concussion, and some cuts and bruises, you're in remarkably good shape." the nurse said. "The doctor did have some questions though; your hand and leg....."

"I work for the government." he interrupted. "It's classified, I can't talk about it." It wasn't classified, really, but he still didn't want to talk about it. It opened the way for too many questions he wasn't ready to talk about. Glancing down at his body, he moved his bionic limbs and found that they were able to move without difficulty. He'd wait until he was alone to check out the circuits.

The nurse looked disconcerted. She was probably really wondering what was going on now.

"Alright." she said hesitantly. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

He nodded. "You can call me Forge."

O-o-o-o-O

The nurse checked his vitals, asked him a few questions about how he felt, then returned a little bit later with painkillers and some food. After he ate, Forge laid back against the pillows and waited for the painkillers to kick in. His mind was telling him to get out of here, he had too much to do and a search to get underway, but he knew that he was in no condition to drive and he was no use to himself, no use to _her_, if he left and hurt himself again. It was frustrating though. Two fucking years. He had no idea what had happened since then, and especially what had happened since about eight months ago. He had to find out, before _he _ found out. He had to get out of here.

Along with dulling the pain, the pills also made him tired, and as he drifted off to sleep, his mind drifted off back in time, to how he had gotten into this situation in the first place.

_Two years ago........._

_Forge was slammed against the wall, his head rapping sharply against the metal the wall was made of. He wasn't surprised that the guy would have a completely metal building. The hairy mutant that had just tossed him like a rag doll snarled from across the room. He tried to move forward but found himself going off balance as the metal of his right hand and leg suddenly became cemented to the wall._

"_I would really reconsider your answer to my request." said the man in the doorway. Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto, had grabbed Forge while he was in Washington D.C on DoD business. He had no idea where he was now, just that it had been a few hours by plane. Now he was in a metal building somewhere while Erik tried to commission him for a job he had no intention of taking._

"_No way." he spat, and sank awkwardly to the floor, his trapped limbs sliding with him as he rubbed his head. _

"_I don't understand why you're being so difficult." Erik said calmly. "With the power you can help me achieve, we can help mutantkind defend itself against the war that's coming. And you know it's coming just as well as I do."_

"_No, if you do this you'll just make them more determined to fight us." Forge said. "We need to reason with them. Give Charles a chance."_

_Erik shook his head. "As much as I respect my old friend, Charles is a fool. They can't be reasoned with. Our only solution is to fight, it's us or them. And you will help us."_

_Forge leaned back against the wall. "What makes you so sure I'll help you?"_

_Erik smiled, but there wasn't a trace of pleasantness in it. "Because otherwise I would need to take a little trip. To Mississippi. There's a young lady there who I've never met, but I've wanted to for a long time."_

_Forge felt like his blood was turning to ice in his veins. _no..........

_His panic must have shown on his face because the older man's smile turned cruel. "Did you honestly think I didn't know? Did you think I wouldn't find out what Destiny was hiding from me? I've known all along. Raven told me right from the beginning, in fact the child was promised to me. Destiny told her about the power the girl would be capable of, and Raven promised to train her for me. After she died I was told that the child had died with her, but I found out later that Irene lied."_

_Forge was horrified. Irene had lied to him. "No.......she said you never knew...." he said quietly. _

"_Destiny can be quite manipulative when she wants to be." Erik said. "Is that why you've stayed away all these years? Did she tell you that you had to stay away, or otherwise I'd find out? I keep an eye on them, probably more than you do, and we've rarely seen you visit. Tell me Forge, does your daughter even know you exist?"_

_Forge just groaned and turned his face away. If he could he'd strangle Irene right now. And Raven. He couldn't even begin to describe the anger he felt towards his dead lover. _

"_Why have you left her alone?" he asked finally. _

"_I have no time to raise a child, and Destiny seemed to be doing an acceptable job of it so I left the girl where she was. Then she had her accident. I really don't have much use for a blind girl, and I wasn't completely sure if and when her mutation would show up, or even what it was, so I've left her alone. What is her mutation, anyway?" Erik asked curiously._

"_Hmph. Like I'm really going to tell you." Forge said._

"_No matter. I'll find out eventually. The bottom line is, you're going to do what I say and build my little project, or else your daughter is going to work for me, blind or not, and I can't promise that she will remain as innocent as she is now. Other than Sabertooth here, my Acolytes are all young men, and I can't watch them all the time." Erik said, more than a bit of a threat in his voice._

"_What happens if I finish this project of yours?" Forge asked warily._

"_If I'm satisfied with your work, I let you go. You can take the girl and go wherever you want. Destiny stays though; I've been needing to have a little talk with her for several years now."_

"_How can I believe you?" Forge asked._

_Erik shrugged. "You're going to have to trust me. You have no choice. So what is your answer?"_

"_Fine. I'll do it."_

"_Good. You'll start tomorrow." Erik said, and left the room, Sabertooth following behind him._

_After the door closed, his metal hand and leg collapsed beside him. Forge closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall._

Rogue........I'm so sorry........................

O-o-o-o-O

He woke up in a panic, the memory running through his head. His headache had diminished to a more bearable level, but frankly he'd rather experience that pain than go through the memory of the past two years again. Erik didn't make a habit of being cruel to him; in fact as long as he did his work Forge was treated fairly well, but he was under guard at all times and locked up in his room except to work. The only time he had been treated roughly were the times he had tried to escape; on those occasions he had been given some 'alone time' with Sabertooth. Even then though he wasn't allowed to be injured too seriously; he was needed in relatively one piece to do Erik's work. Sabertooth however over time found ways to cause him great pain without severe physical damage.

And so time had gone on, Forge's work on his assignment going well enough to keep Erik satisfied. Until about eight months ago.......

_The door to Forge's room ripped off its hinges with a horrible metallic squealing sound. It crashed into the wall near his bed, leaving a crater behind. In its wake walked in Magneto, the unholy white glow of his eyes giving away his anger._

"_WHERE IS SHE?" he demanded, and dragged through the air by his metallic limbs, Forge was thrown against the wall next to what used to be his door._

"_What?" he asked, trying to ignore the aftershock of the blow that was still going through most of the right side of his body._

"_Rogue and that damned pre-cog." Magneto ground out. "My Acolytes make random visits to Mississippi at least once a year. This time they discovered that your daughter and her foster mother had left; they up and moved and nobody knows where, people just know that Rogue left a young man lying in the hospital in a coma before she disappeared. Now where IS she?"_

"_How the hell should I know?" Forge demanded angrily. "You've had me locked up here for well over a year and a half now. I have no idea where they might have gone." And he really didn't know, he realized as his mind raced, trying to think where Irene and Rogue may have gone. Irene had no living family that he was aware of. And she had kept Kurt and the X-Men a secret from Rogue her entire life so he doubted she would go to New York now. Besides, the last he knew she was still determined to keep Rogue away from both Magneto and Xavier. So where were they?_

"_Hm......maybe you don't." Magneto conceded reluctantly, the glow in his eyes fading slowly. "From what I've seen over the years I get the feeling Destiny has allowed you very little of your daughter's life."_

"_It's none of your damn business." Forge snapped. He didn't want to admit how easy it had been for Destiny to talk him into going along with her wishes. _

"_I'm going to find them." Magneto said. "And if I find out that you lied, that you knew where they went, I will have Sabertooth rip every inch of skin from your body." With that he turned around and left the room; the door that had been laying on the floor rose into the air, straightened out and reconnected itself back into the door frame._

_Forge's bionic limbs released from the wall and he sighed, not for the first time missing his own flesh and blood. He couldn't dwell on that though, there were more important things to think about. Irene and his daughter had disappeared somewhere, and Erik was now engaging in an all-out search for them, while he was stuck here useless, unable to try to find them._

_What had happened to make them leave? Destiny wouldn't just up and move for no reason; she and Rogue had lived in that little town in Mississippi for all of the girl's life, and she felt safe there. It was too damn frustrating. All he knew was, he now had to try harder than ever to find a way out._

O-o-o-o-O

The months after that had been hell, Forge remembered as he laid in the hospital bed. As Erik's project neared completion, he made his captive inventor work harder than ever. But even while he worked, Forge kept his eyes open for an opportunity to escape. That opportunity finally came a day or so ago, when Erik brought one of his children to his base. Forge had known of Erik's son Pietro; the young man was one of his Acolytes, and a rather annoying one at that. He hadn't known that the man also had a daughter. He had been working that day when he suddenly heard the sound of screams and an explosion from the room next door.......

_Forge was usually guarded by either Sabertooth or the stoic young Russian giant known as Colossus. Today was Colossus' turn to guard him, but when the commotion began he left Forge's side and quickly went to the other room, apparently forgetting his duty to watch over the escape-prone inventor._

_Forge followed the other man at a distance, and when Colossus stopped in the middle of the room, his attention completely on the cause of the commotion, Forge snuck in behind him to hide behind one of the open doors. They were now in the hangar, where a plane, a helicopter, and a few large, round metal balls were parked. Down at the other end of the hanger the main doors were still open; apparently everyone had been too distracted by what was going on to close them._

_In the middle of the hangar were Erik and his Acolytes, trying to circle a young woman who couldn't be much older than her late teens. She had coal-black hair cut very short, wore pale makeup and dressed in red. Bolts of blue energy shot from her hands at the people trying to surround her. Her attention was mainly focused on Erik and Pietro._

"_I'm going to kill you Father!" she shouted, firing a blue bolt at him. Erik managed to duck out of the way, not without getting a corner of that ridiculous cape he wore singed though. _

_Father? Forge had already been surprised when meeting Pietro that Erik had managed to procreate once, now he finds that the man had managed it a second time. _

_The girl in red looked at her apparent sibling Pietro, and smirked. "And don't think that you'll get away either, brother dearest." she said, and fired at him as well. Quicksilver was too fast for her though, and dodged her easily._

_This was his opportunity, Forge realized. His way out was right down at the other end of the hangar; he may not get another chance like this again. He was trying to think of how to sneak past everyone without getting caught when a startling thing happened. While ducking his head out carefully from behind the door, he caught the eye of the girl in red. She looked at him for a moment, then winked at him before turning around to run towards one of the one of the other doors out of the hangar. Erik and the Acolytes took off after her at a run._

_He wasn't sure if it was because he didn't look like the others or why she did what she did , but not stopping to debate his good luck, Forge ran as fast as he could out of the hangar, making sure to get out of view once he was outside. He found outside to be a quiet, wooded area, with a large enough space cleared for the base and a small runway. It made sense for Erik to set up shop in a tiny area though, given what he was up to. Looking around, Forge saw a few vehicles parked around the hangar. Finally settling on a Jeep, he hotwired it and sped out of the area as fast as he could go, ignoring the occasional explosion that could be heard for a distance as he left. _

_Man, talk about your dysfunctional families,_ Forge thought to himself now. He hoped the girl, whatever her name was, gave her father hell. As for himself he needed to get going; there was a girl somewhere out there who had every right to give him hell, and as soon as he found her, he'd let her.

O-o-o-o-O

After experiencing dizziness and collapsing the first time he tried to get up, the doctor sent him right back to bed. It took another two days before he was able to get up and function properly, then another day before the doctor would release him. Forge found himself fortunate in that his insurance company was able to do an authorization for payment of his hospital bill over the phone, otherwise he would have been stuck. He lucked out again when he managed to talk his bank into releasing funds for him to travel with. The first thing he did was buy new clothes, then a bus ticket out of town. His disappearance most definitely would have been discovered by now, and Erik would have his Acolytes cover the local airports, as he would be expecting Forge to fly straight to Mississippi to begin his search. Forge had no intention of doing that though. His plan was to take a bus to Albany and steal a vehicle for the drive to Dallas. As much he didn't want to, he'd never make it through airport security without some kind of ID, and buses and trains were too slow. He didn't think Irene and Rogue were still in Mississippi. His best bet was to go home and see if any kind of message or letter had been left for him. Part of his agreement with Irene was that she would keep him informed on any major events or changes in Rogue's life. So if they were moving, she would have had to try to contact him in some way before leaving.

The bus trip to Albany was uneventful; Forge spent most of the trip reading a newspaper, trying to catch up on what had been going on in the world since he had been captured. It was mostly the usual politics and wars, sprinkled with celebrity gossip. Violence against mutants was escalating though, and some states, such as Louisiana, were trying to pass mutant registration and other similar laws. It almost made him wonder if Erik was right about an inevitable war. Then he remembered what Erik wanted to do, and decided that it would just make things worse.

Once in Albany, he bought something to eat and caught a cab to the airport. Long-term parking would be his best bet; the owners would be gone for awhile which would delay the reporting of the car as stolen. Wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses to cover his face, he tied his dark hair back into a ponytail and searched the mainly deserted parking lot. With a backpack of new clothes slung over his shoulder, he looked no different than any of the other hundreds of people in the airport that day. Finally he found a small, nondescript looking older model car. Peeking through the window, he saw that it had a nearly full tank of gas, which meant he wouldn't have to stop to fill up until he was out of state. The parking card in the window indicated that it had only been in the lot for a little over three days. It was perfect.

When he had built his bionic hand and leg years ago, he had built the hand to be a little more special than the ordinary hand, more special than the average artificial hand for that matter. It had a computer interface with USB port, meaning he could connect into most computers, and had built some special weapons of his own design to be used with it also. But one of his favorite additions was what he liked to call the "Swiss Army Knife" function. Out of the thumb he could produce a tiny pair of scissors, while his index finger produced either a thin stilletto blade, or at the suggestion of one of his former sargeants when he was designing his new limbs, a standard lock pick. He used this to pick the lock on the car, then tossed his backpack into the rear seat before climbing in. Some of his old Army buddies hadn't exactly been upstanding citizens before joining the service, and one of the things they had taught him was how to hotwire a car; Forge now used this skill and was soon pulling out of the parking lot after having paid the parking fee for the car having sat for the past few days. A little while later he was on I-90 West heading towards Buffalo; he wanted to avoid going through the larger cities to the east where he might be spotted.

With making only the bare minimum of stops for food, fuel and restroom breaks, he managed to make it to Dallas in about a day and a half. The first thing Forge did was stop at DFW Airport, where he left the car he'd stolen in long term parking. Even if law enforcement somehow tracked him to Texas, airport parking wasn't really a common place to stash a car. He doubted the car was really valuable enough for them to consider being worth the effort to track this far anyway.

Forge then took a taxi into downtown Dallas, where he had converted the top three floors of an apartment building into a penthouse. He liked to call it the Aerie, because of the view he had from there. In an upper corner of the wall near the doorway, there was a secret compartment where he kept a spare key. He was thankful for this now as he used it to enter the first level. Going inside, he noticed that the place had an abandoned look; he supposed two years of neglect would do that. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the plants he had near some of the windows were long dead.

It also looked like it had been thoroughly trashed. Apparently Erik's Acolytes had been there looking for information on Rogue and Irene.

_It's a good thing I don't have any pets_ he thought absentmindedly to himself. Looking around again he didn't even try to pick anything up. He just left his backpack on one of the couches and walked over to where one entire wall was built out of high-tension glass. Looking out over the city, it just felt so odd to be home again. There had been many times over the past two years where he thought he'd never be here again. He didn't really feel relief, or much satisfaction to be back in Dallas. There was just a knot of anxiety in his stomach; one he'd been feeling for eight months now. Yes, he was away from New York, he was home again; but he couldn't stay. There was too much to do.

With a sigh, Forge walked away from the window and went to his safe, which was hidden in a compartment in his bedroom closet. Within he kept a spare copy of his driver's license, DoD badge and passport; along with spare cash and some traveler's checks. Also in there were copies of his apartment and car keys, and the key to his post office box. His work for the government was often classified, so he received his mail at a secure box at the regional post office, which was a couple of blocks away. He went there next after grabbing the ID's and spare keys.

His mail box was stuffed full of a variety of magazines, bills, various letters and junk mail. He wanted to be alone went he started reading anything in the bundle, so he kept himself from going through it, and despite the tightening knot in his stomach, forced himself to return to the Aerie before touching anything. Once there though, he collapsed on the main couch and started searching through the letters frantically. There had to be something there, there just had to be. Finally he found it, a thin envelope with a Mississippi return address, dated over a year ago. Before he opened it though, he looked through the entire bundle to see if there were any others. He found a total of three, the second and third letters though having an address in New Orleans. Grabbing the oldest one, he ripped open the envelope to see what Destiny had to say for herself.

_Dear Forge,_

_For all my visions, some things are beyond my sight. I never expected to be writing this...................malignant brain tumor.........................less than 20% chance of survival, but I haven't told Rogue of this. I will continue to seek treatment...........................................St. Michael's Hospital, New Orleans.........................................all she has left. Please come immediately.........................cannot leave her alone...............will be able to do as you want now, I just hope you remember what her future is if you don't choose wisely. _

_Irene_

Forge glared at the letter in his hands, crumpling it into a ball. _Of COURSE I'm all she has left, you BITCH!! _ he screamed inside, the knot in his stomach twisting impossibly tight. _What did you expect? You cut her off from her family, from everyone; all in the name of protecting her from a man we should have taken out years ago!_

Tossing the paper ball aside, he reached for the next letter. It was similar to the first, telling of the failure of her treatments to do any good, and begging him to come as soon as possible. Finally he opened the last, fearing what he might read.

_Dear Forge,_

_I don't understand your silence. You have every right to hate me, considering what I've done, but I need you now; no, she needs you now. I won't deny that I never wanted it to come to this. All I wanted was for Rogue to live a normal life; free from the dangers of mutant politics and warfare. I had hoped that someday Erik would either be defeated or made to see the error of his ways, and I could let Rogue come to know her family. The visions have come stronger than ever now, and I fear what will happen to her once I am gone. I know I don't have much longer; I spend more and more time sleeping since the treatments are almost as unbearable as the cancer itself. I'm checking myself into the hospital long-term tomorrow, and I don't expect to leave. Please come. Tell Rogue anything you want, just please come. I just hope that someday both of you can find a way to forgive me._

_Irene_

Forge just stared at the letter. Considering the time that had passed since this was written, he had no doubt that Irene was dead. _But where is Rogue?!_ His throat was so tight he couldn't swallow. What could have happened to her? He didn't know what Destiny's final arrangements were; she came from old money so there wouldn't have been any problem with funeral expenses or anything like that, but he didn't know who would have handled it. Irene had kept a lot of things from him over the years, not just his child. Probably some law firm somewhere. It didn't really matter. What mattered was that there was a seventeen year old girl out there who had no idea that she had anyone in the world other than her now-deceased foster mother. And this girl had now been most likely abandoned for at least a year, considering he didn't know of anyone else Irene would have confided in.

He slumped back into the cushions of the couch, trying to somehow relax and lose the knot of fear inside that was threatening to paralyze him. It wasn't working.

Instead of crumpling this letter up like he had done with the last two, he folded it up and slid it into his pocket; he wasn't sure what he would tell Rogue if...._when_ he found her, but he wanted to keep this to try and help him explain to her why Irene had done what she had. Of course that led to an interesting question; what was he going to tell her? Was he supposed to just walk up to her and say, "Hello Rogue, I'm your father, and I abandoned you because your foster mother had visions of you dying at the hands of a maniac?" Oh yeah, sure, that would really go over well. She had no idea what was going on regarding mutant warfare other than what was shown on the news. She didn't know about her brother, didn't know about Charles Xavier, didn't know about the X-Men. And she _definitely_ didn't know about Erik Lensherr. No way was she prepared to live in a situation like that. Sure Rogue knew judo; Destiny had sent pictures of her in her gi and told him about how well she did in her lessons, but to try to go up against Magneto's Acolytes? It was the judo that had given him the idea to make her an adamantium cane; despite all of Irene's efforts he'd had the feeling that his daughter may get caught up in the mutant struggle, and wanted to make sure she could at least try to fight back. Forge had managed to call in _several_ favors and got his hands on some true adamantium. Not even Wolverine would be able to make so much as a scratch on that cane.

Leaving the crumpled balls of paper where he had thrown them, Forge got up from the couch and went into the bedroom. The Acolytes had been in here too. The bed was wrecked, and drawers from his desk and dresser were laying on the floor, with papers and pictures strewn everywhere. His eyes fell on a picture near the desk, and carefully picked it up before sitting on the bed. It had been taken at Christmas; Rogue had just turned ten years old the month before and she was standing in front of the tree, holding the gift he'd made for her that year. Irene would send him pictures and letters, telling him of the things going on in Rogue's life, and he would either send money for presents or make things for her himself. When she was six he'd made her an extremely realistic mechanical dinosaur which she had loved; there was also the adamantium cane when she was thirteen and the vocal clock when she was fifteen. The year she was ten though, he had made her a music box. It had a medieval couple dancing on top, and played "Scarborough Fair", it made him sad though; Raven had loved it because she said it summed up their relationship; they had asked impossible things of each other like in the words of the song. The couple didn't simply twirl though, like other music boxes; instead they spun and danced so well that it looked almost real.

He wondered if she still had it.

It was okay though, Forge told himself. If she didn't have it he'd make her something else, something better. He'd make her whatever she wanted. He had started working on something a couple of years ago, but then Magneto had kidnapped him and, well, everything went downhill from there.

But before he could make her anything, he had to find her first. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he got down there, but he could think about that on the way. Sliding the picture in his pocket he grabbed an overnight bag for the trip to New Orleans, trying to shove away the image of a happy little stripe-haired girl dancing around a Christmas tree.

O-o-o-o-O

Anyone wanting to see Forge in this story should visit his profile on marvel dot com. It's the second picture down on the left. I have also discovered the perfect image of Remy for this story. It's the avatar on abril4's profile, and is absolutely drool-worthy.


	27. Meanwhile Back At the Ranch

O-o-o-o-O

Belle gazed almost absentmindedly at the window as the rain falling from the night sky splattered against the glass. It wasn't that she was ignoring what Julien was saying, it was just that she didn't want to turn and see the earnest anger on his face; indignant anger on her behalf. Always the protective older brother; he was her best friend and she loved him, but he couldn't protect her from everything.

"......it was disgusting, Bella, how close they were dancing." Julien said from another part of the room, where she knew he was nursing a glass of whiskey. She had noticed that he had been drinking more often than was his habit, and it concerned her. She had mentioned it to him once or twice, but he just brushed it off. He never got himself falling over drunk, and never did anything stupid like try to drive or work while he was drinking, so she really didn't have anything that she could use in an argument about it. She hated to argue with him anyway.

Belle knew that it was her upcoming wedding that had him wound up so tight. As every good brother believed, no man was good enough for his sister, and the fact that her Remy was one of their traditional enemies made it worse. And so this campaign against Remy, using every piece of information he could find, particularly about her fiance's 'community service' assignment. This combined with what she had seen on her own was making her a little more receptive to what Julien was saying.

Belle did not like to share. Growing up as an Assassin, she had learned to see people as expendable; targets to be taken out in order to complete an assignment. This made the people that an Assassin considered worthy of trust and caring to be special; and once that trust was lost it was rarely regained. Even before she started dating him Belle knew that Remy liked to play; he had begun to flirt shamelessly at an early age, and as he got older he was never serious about any of his dates. Despite knowing this, she had agreed to go out with him anyway and couldn't help falling in love with the charming Thief. Her possessive nature kept her insecure though, and while she did believe Remy when he told her he was being faithful, she couldn't help wondering if he would fall back into his old ways, if the temptation to play the field would return. But when their families agreed to have them engaged, she relaxed. She felt that sure that he would commit himself to their marriage and would truly be hers.

Then Remy got arrested.

Her father may hate the Thieves, but Belle knew that he had worked too hard with Jean-Luc LeBeau on this peace agreement to throw it all away by having the Patriarch's son and one of the key players in the truce tossed in jail. And any wise Assassin knew not to risk Marius' wrath, especially not in something like this. So as much as she wanted to deny it, Belle couldn't help but wonder if Julien had had anything to do with Remy's arrest. She couldn't bring herself to confront him about it, as she had no proof and anyway she didn't want to believe that he could indirectly hurt her like that. So she kept her suspicions to herself and added her pleas to Jean-Luc's demands that her father use his connections to either have the charges thrown out or get him a lighter sentence. And it had worked; his almost guaranteed jail sentence was reduced to community service.

And what an assignment. Belle had wanted to laugh when Remy told her what he would be doing. He was the last person she could imagine as a companion to the blind. And with the girl being blind she had no fears about her falling for Remy; he kept his real self to just his friends and family with only his handsome, charming exterior available to the general public. Without her eyes, this girl would have nothing to fall for. And after Remy told her what Rogue's mutation was, Belle felt even more secure. Remy was too tactile a person, too fond of sex to even consider trying to start something with a girl who couldn't touch him without putting him in the hospital. _He did touch her once though_ Belle's memory reminded her, but she pushed the thought away. That was just Remy being stupid. He was one of those people who would push the red button right after you told them not to do it; _especially_ because you told him not to do it. She didn't think anything of it.

Then Julien told her about their cozy little nap together in the park, Remy's happy smile at the state facility the girl lived in, his bringing her home with him. That, along with Julien's persistence in arguing about it made her agree to drop in on Remy, if only to make her brother back down. And what she found when she did visit troubled her. Remy didn't flirt with Rogue; he joked and teased instead, but he was also very considerate of the girl and watched out for her at all times. Belle supposed it could be considered part of his responsibilities as her companion, but it just seemed more personal than that. Then there was the way he had looked at Rogue in the clothes that Mercy had bought. It was a very appreciative look, and Belle in _no_ way thought it could be considered platonic. Watching the two of them laugh while running through the rain holding hands had been the last straw, and what made Belle decide that she hated Rogue Darkholme.

And it had just gotten worse since then. Rogue was at the LeBeau house almost every weekend just visiting, even though Remy was only required to see her during the week. Belle would call sometimes to ask Remy for a last minute lunch or just an opportunity to see him, but he often would already be out with Rogue. And as the blind girl learned to navigate around the house on her own, Remy wouldn't help her but his eyes would regularly stray in her direction as if to keep tabs on what she was doing. Rogue seemed to bring out Remy's inner knight in shining armor; and Belle had to admit she was jealous of that since she had never even known that her fiance had such a thing.

Then there was what Julien had seen tonight. Her fiance had been dancing with Rogue much more closely than would seem appropriate. According to her brother, she even had her head on his shoulder. It made Belle want to hit something. All this about being faithful, and here was Remy spinning around a dance floor with his little blind girl. She could just feel part of him gradually slipping away from her. Belle had no doubt that technically he was being faithful, considering Rogue's mutation; but his affection didn't seem to be strictly centered on her anymore. Remy would still marry her; he was too honorable and devoted to his family to do anything else, but she didn't know how she would be able to deal with having only half of his heart. She was hurt and angry, and she didn't know what to do about it.

Belle turned finally to look at her brother, shifting in her favorite chair.

"And what am I supposed to do Julien?" she asked angrily. Not at him though, but her situation. "I can't exactly tell him not to see her when he's required to spend time with her."

"Call off the wedding." Julien said immediately. "The priests are always going on about how adultery isn't just physical. That damn Thief's being unfaithful to you, even if he can't touch that girl."

"I still love him though." Belle said, looking at the window again. And she did. She also knew that ultimately she would still marry Remy, glad to have what she could of him, and also to keep him from her rival, she decided spitefully.

She could hear her brother move behind the chair, and he rested his head on top of hers.

"You're making a mistake, _petite soeur_." Julien said quietly. "You're settling for second best when you deserve someone who loves you completely."

"Maybe, maybe not." Belle said, reaching to squeeze his hand. "Rogue may have a piece of his heart, but I will have the rest of it and the body it's in, something she can never have." This resolution made her feel a little better, burying her hurt in the prospect of watching the other girl suffer. She originally had been upset when Remy told her he had invited Rogue to their wedding, but she now looked forward to it. She wanted to see Rogue's face as she sat in the church having to listen to Remy give vows of marriage to another.

And the satisfaction she would have in Remy's pain at seeing Rogue go through this made it even better.

O-o-o-o-O

The rain had started shortly after they left the dance hall, just past midnight. Kurt saw Remy and his sister running towards his motorcycle just before he _bamfed_ himself and Ororo into Mercy's car, leaving the others to catch up. Mercy, Ororo and Emil chatted on the way back to the house, with Henri making an occasional comment, but Kurt just looked out the window; the rain coming down hard enough to splash against the streets and sidewalk. Hopefully Remy would be smart enough to not drive that motorcycle too fast on the trip home. He supposed he shouldn't worry though; Remy always seemed concerned for Rogue's welfare, even if it was in subtle ways. Kurt wasn't sure if he could call what he saw tonight 'concern' though. Kurt had had a great time; he enjoyed the Cajun music and dancing with his girlfriend and sister. Rogue had seemed to be having a good time also, with the guys (except maybe for Emil) taking care not to go too fast as they took their turns with her out on the dance floor. Even the dances she shared with Remy seemed perfectly innocent.

Until that last waltz.

Kurt had watched in shock from the bar as Remy and Rogue slowly danced closer and closer, until Remy had one arm almost completely around her waist and Rogue's head was resting against his shoulder. If he didn't know better, he would assume that the two were a very affectionate couple. He did know better though, didn't he? It made him nervous. Kurt was still getting used to Remy, and the concern and consideration he showed for her went a long way towards that end; but while he was glad that Rogue had a good friend down here, he hoped that she wasn't allowing herself to feel anything more than friendship for Remy. There were the obvious reasons against it; Remy was engaged to be married soon, and Rogue was moving to New York in November to live at the Institute. Also too was the inevitable disappointment that Rogue would have in a relationship with him. Remy didn't seem the type of person who would be content to have a nonphysical relationship. Kurt was afraid that his sister was going to be hurt badly, and he couldn't bear the thought of it. She had become very dear to him, and he wanted nothing but happiness for her. He decided that once they were back at the house he would try to talk to her, to try and see what her feelings were for Remy and to help her see reason if those feelings were going in a direction they shouldn't.

Apparently Remy and Rogue had beaten them back, as his motorcycle was already parked outside when they arrived. Despite Kurt's efforts in keeping them dry, he and Ororo were soaked by the time they got into the house.

"Goodnight _liebchen_." he said, kissing her affectionately. "I'm going to see Rogue before I go to bed."

"Are you going to say to her what I think you're going to say?" Ororo asked after returning his kiss.

"_Ja_. Maybe it's just the Big Brother alarm set a little too high, but that dance seemed way too close for just friends." Kurt said.

"I agree." Ororo nodded. "Remy is my friend and I don't think he would ever hurt Rogue intentionally, but there can only be trouble if anything starts between them. Remy is promised to Belladonna, and the Thieves and Assassins Guilds have too much invested in this marriage for there to be anything but a disaster if something goes wrong."

"Exactly. I hope I can help her see what a mistake it would be for her and Remy to be anything other than friends." Kurt said, and gave her another kiss. "Wish me luck."

Ororo smiled. "Good luck. I'll see you in the morning."

Kurt enjoyed the view as his girlfriend ascended the staircase to the second floor, then went down the hall to where the room that Rogue was staying in was. He rounded the corner to find Remy and Rogue talking quietly in front of her door. Remy noticed him and stopped talking.

"Ah, Blue Boy." Remy said in a slightly mocking tone. "Come to check on your _soeur_. I'll leave you two alone now." He looked down at Rogue. "Good night, _chere_." he said in a more affectionate voice.

"Good night Remy." Rogue said, and he left them.

"Rogue, could I come in for a minute? I wanted to talk to you." Kurt said.

Rogue nodded and opened the door. "I'm glad you came, actually." she said, a smile developing on her face. "I have something I wanted to show you."

Kurt followed her into the room and looked around. It was a simple but pretty room, decorated in soft blues and greens. Rogue moved carefully until she found a bag sitting on a desk near the bed. She felt around inside until she came up with what looked like two pictures in frames. She held them out.

"I brought these with me from Mississippi, along with some books, CD's and a few other things I didn't want to leave behind." Rogue said.

Kurt joined her on the other side of the room and took the pictures. One of them was of a younger Rogue with a serene-looking blind woman who he assumed was Irene Adler. The other was of Irene with a blue-skinned woman with red hair, both of them smiling. _Mystique_ he realized, recognizing her from photos in a file that Professor Xavier had on his dead mother. She had looked stiff and unfriendly in those pictures, while this photo showed a happy woman; the smile made her exotic beauty less cold as she stood with someone who was obviously very close to her. Rogue had said that Irene was her mother's best friend, and Professor Xavier had said that the two women had been partners, but looking at this picture Kurt wondered if there had been more than that between them. His religion told him that kind of relationship was wrong, but something that made his mother look that happy couldn't be evil.

He envied his sister. She had seen this picture of a warm, happy woman while growing up, and was told good stories about her mother. Kurt on the other hand, had been shown a hardened face, and was told of how she threw her first child away, literally, and of her actions as a terrorist while she was alive. He wondered how he would ever be able to tell her the truth about Raven Darkholme, at least the part of it she didn't know about.

"All of you look very happy together." He said at last.

Rogue smiled. "Yeah."

Kurt looked at the pictures again, considering. "Did Irene ever say anything about your father?"

"No, not really. Just that he left after he and my mother had a big argument before I was born." Rogue said. "I asked sometimes, but Irene would never talk about him."

"Strange." Kurt said. He had wondered about his real father too, but Professor Xavier had searched for information, and eventually found it was most likely a German noble, Baron Wagner. It wasn't 100% positive though, and while Kurt still wondered sometimes, he loved his adoptive parents very much. Rogue however, had no idea who her father was, and had never had a father figure either. She didn't seem to be suffering for it though; Destiny seemed to have done a very good job of raising her.

"Here you go." he said as he touched Rogue's hands with the edge of the frames; she took the pictures and put them back in the bag.

"Thank you for showing them to me." Kurt said. "Professor Xavier has some pictures of Raven, but they're not as good as these." He then sat on the edge of the bed, trying to figure out how to broach the real reason he had come to see her.

"Rogue, I wanted to talk to you about tonight." he said at last.

His sister stilled, and he got the feeling she knew what he was going to say.

"You and Remy..................looked awfully close while dancing tonight. In fact, it looked a little too close." Kurt said. "I know I'm probably being ridiculous, but is there something going on between you two?"

If anything, Rogue's normally pale face turned almost white.

"No!" she protested. "We're not like that. He's my friend. Just my friend." she said, and Kurt thought she looked like she was trying to convince herself rather than him. "We were just......I don't know. It doesn't mean anything though. Remy's getting married and I'm going to New York to live with you."

Kurt of course already knew that she was going to leave New Orleans, but it was still nice to hear the affirmation, especially after having seen them so close together earlier tonight.

"I know, but you just seemed really close earlier, and I don't want you to get hurt by falling for someone it could never work out with." Kurt said.

"You think I don't know that?" Rogue asked, and sat down on the other side of the bed. "I don't feel that way about Remy anyway. He's my friend, probably my best friend. Gawd, I never thought I'd say that." she said, rolling her eyes. "And you're definitely right about it not working out. I'd end up trying to kill him for one reason or another."

Kurt smiled at this. He had seen of enough of the two of them together to believe it.

"I just want to be sure." he said. "I couldn't stand to ever see you hurt."

Rogue smiled gently. "It's okay. Nothing's going on, and nothing will go on. And it will be November before you know it."

"Good." Kurt said, reaching across the bed to squeeze her hand. Rogue pleased him by squeezing back. She was getting less and less jumpy about unexpected touch.

He straightened and got up from the bed. "I'm going to bed now. Ororo and I are going to Mass tomorrow morning. Do you want to join us?"

Rogue shrugged. "Sure, why not. I've never been to one before. Have you asked Remy, too?"

"_Ja_, but he said he wanted to sleep in. I fear for the state of his soul." Kurt joked.

"With the state it's in, I doubt going to Mass would help it any." Rogue said with a smirk.

"We should never give up on people, Rogue." Kurt said as he headed for the door. "The service starts at 9 tomorrow. Do you need me to wake you up?"

Rogue shook her head. "No, I brought my alarm clock with me."

"Okay. Good night." Kurt said, and left his sister's room. He felt he should be relieved that Rogue denied having any kind of affection for Remy other than platonic, but he still couldn't help but remember seeing them on the dance floor; shock and pleasure competing on Rogue's face while Remy held her like something precious. He just hoped he was wrong, because nothing could ever come of it but hurt for both them.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy woke up the next day to the warmth of the sun streaming through his window onto his face. He didn't close the curtains very often at night as he sometimes liked to look through the window at the night sky. It wasn't like anyone could see him through the window anyway as his neighbors were blocked out by the trees surrounding the back yard, and even if they could see him he figured he would be doing them a favor by giving them a show.

He closed his eyes and debated what he would do this morning, actually getting up not yet crossing his mind. Kurt had mentioned going to Mass, so Remy figured that Rogue was probably going with him. That left Remy to his own devices until they got back. Opening his eyes, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little past 10am. That gave him probably another hour or so until they returned, depending on how long the service lasted. Remembering the times he had gone with Tante Mattie and Henri as a child, it would probably last for awhile.

Based on the preferences of his family, probably the only people up would be Tante Mattie, Henri and possibly his father. Tante may have gone to Mass with Rogue and the others though, so that left his brother. Remy wasn't sure he wanted to hang out with him right now. He had already gotten a razzing from both him and Mercy about last night, and he didn't feel like going through it again. What made it worse was that he didn't really have a defense; he honestly didn't know what had gotten into him last night to make him pull Rogue close like that. She had just felt so good in his arms and he didn't know if he'd have another chance to do it again. In another three weeks any time he touched her would be as a married man. _But what difference does that make? We're just friends_ he reminded himself.

He was awakened awhile later by the sound of Led Zeppelin blasting from his brother's room. Remy sighed. Henri was a major classic rock fan. Mercy must be up, because otherwise he'd be hearing Henri's death cries instead of the heavy beat of "Kashmir". By the time he got dressed and made his way downstairs it was 11:30 and Henri had switched to ZZ Top. Rogue, Ororo and Kurt were in the kitchen, enjoying a platter of muffins that Tante must have made this morning.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Ororo grinned up at him as he entered the kitchen.

Remy snorted. "Hard to sleep with that racket going on upstairs."

"You're telling me." Mercy said as she walked into the kitchen. "I think this is my punishment for making him take me to that restaurant on Friday."

Remy shook his head. "It's your own fault. How can you be sentimental about a place that doesn't understand the difference between rare and well-done?"

Mercy shrugged. "He proposed to me there, I have good memories of the place. Besides, their _crème brulee_ is to die for."

"You _femmes_." Remy said, rolling his eyes. He grabbed a muffin from the table and after spreading on some jam, bit off a third of it before hunting around in the fridge for the milk.

"So how was Mass?" he asked.

"It was good." Kurt said. "The choir is lovely."

"It's too bad you missed it Remy, the sermon was on 'Thou Shalt Not Steal'." Ororo teased. "Then again, maybe it is a good thing you missed it."

"Yeah, I'd hate to have that church hit by a bolt of lightning." Rogue commented drily.

"Funny, _chere_, funny." Remy said as he poured himself a glass of the milk he had finally found hiding in the back of the fridge.

Mercy was spreading butter on a muffin. " So what do you guys want to do today?"

Everyone started throwing in their ideas.

"Let's go check out the gators."

"Do you have any idea how bad the bayou smells?"

"Swimming?"

"We went yesterday."

"Video games?"

"You did that yesterday."

"Shopping?"

"No way, _liebchen_, I always end up carrying all the bags."

"How about the museum?"

"I'm not too welcome there right now, _chere."_

"Anything but rollerskating." Rogue muttered.

"How about we going bicycling?" Mercy asked.

"Bicycling? How on earth is Rogue going to go bicycling?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"Blind people can ride bikes." Rogue said. "Someone just has to keep an eye on where we're going. I used to go with my friend Cody back home." Remy saw a sad look cross her face for a moment, but then it went away. He figured it was just sadness at remembering her home.

"Cool." Kurt said, brightening up. "Do you guys have any bikes?"

"Yep." Remy said. "They're in the garage. We can go after we eat, if you want." He paused for a moment. "Where's Emil? There's no way he could still be asleep." His cousin was a deep sleeper, but his room was near Henri and Mercy's, and there was no way he could sleep through Henri's stereo.

"Henri said he was out on a research mission with Etienne." Mercy said.

Remy nodded, understanding that she was talking about the Tilling next weekend. It was Etienne's responsibility to conduct the research and case the location for the job, but he and Emil were very good friends and they had often worked together during his training so Remy wasn't surprised that they would go on the fact-finding mission together. His cousins would give him a report later about what they had found. Later in the week he'd go with Etienne himself before the job finally took place on Saturday.

"Okay. We'll have to go without him then." Remy said. "Do you think Henri will want to go?? he asked his sister in law.

Mercy shook her head. "Nah, he's gonna go watch baseball with Theoren and some of the other guys."

Remy shrugged. "Oh well, his loss." he said before cramming the last of his second muffin into his mouth.

During this time Kurt had wolfed down three muffins (which were not small), an apple and a bowl of cereal. Over the weekend Remy had remained in awe over the food this man could eat. "_Homme_, how do you eat like that?" he asked.

"High metabolism." Kurt grinned. "Teleportation burns up a lot of calories."

Mercy looked up at the ceiling. "Dear God, if you ever decide to make me mutate, please let me teleport." she prayed.

"Unless you and _mon frere_ decide to make me an uncle, you'll never have to worry about watching your weight." Remy said.

"Flatterer." Mercy scoffed. "So are you folks finished? It's a beautiful day out."

Remy rinsed out his glass before going over to the table.

"You finished, _chere_?" he asked Rogue.

"Yeah." she nodded, and Remy took her dishes up to the sink. She had gotten to the point where she could do it herself, but Remy still liked doing it sometimes. He didn't really consider it as helping her; he was just being a gentleman.

A little while later they gathered out in the street after having retrieved the bicycles from the garage. Remy and Henri hadn't used theirs in ages, so there was some rust and dust on them, but Mercy and Emil still used their bikes occasionally. There was also a spare that Etienne used once in a while. Remy stashed Rogue's folded up cane in one of his pockets, then got her settled on the bike. He would be her coach of course as they rode. She was a bit awkward at first, as she obviously hadn't ridden one in some time, but eventually she got the hang of it again. Remy rode beside her up near the front of the group, so that she wouldn't accidentally run into anyone if she had to stop suddenly. He quietly gave her directions as needed, letting her know if she got too close to cars or strayed too far in either direction.

They decided to ride to a local coffeehouse just outside of the Garden District, where while drinking coffee and Italian soda they talked, laughed and watched the passersby. Afterwards they rode around the neighborhood a bit so that Remy and Mercy could show the two Yankees how the Garden District got its name. They even went by Anne Rice's house, to Kurt's delight. They couldn't really tell if anyone was home though.

Back at the house they met up with Emil and Etienne; and while Mercy and the others watched television, Remy went into his _pere's_ office with his cousins to find out what they had learned.

"What do you think, Remy?" Etienne asked after he finished giving his report. Remy was reclining in his father's chair, playing a game of solitaire on the desk.

"Not my opinion that counts." He said, not looking up from the cards. "It's your job, Et. What do _you_ think?" Remy wasn't to guide his cousin in any direction, just to follow along, take orders and back him up if necessary. Personally he didn't think the job sounded too bad. The target was a shipping office down in the harbor. Their client was a competitor who wanted private information on the target's customers and cargo. If Etienne was careful they should be in and out with very little trouble.

"I think we can do it." Etienne said. He was sitting in one of the other chairs along with Emil. His mother's angelic blond looks gave him the air of innocence and naivety, but the young man was very intelligent and picked things up quickly. He also had a mischievous streak that his cousin Emil encouraged.

"There's a night shift on the weekends, but it's a skeleton crew and the manager's office is locked up at night. It's in a rear corner of the warehouse. I couldn't find anything out about what kind of security the office has though, so we'll have to wing it once we're inside. Standard B&E, you keep lookout while I go in." he said.

"Alright." Remy said, taking a card off the pile. "Standard it is, whatever you say."

Etienne stood up. "Good. Hey Emil, wanna get out of here? If we get back to my place quickly we can catch the last inning of the game."

"Sure." Emil said. "See ya later Remy." Together the two left.

Since he was winning, Remy finished out his card game before joining the others in the living room.

He and Rogue drove Kurt and Ororo out to the airport later that day. Scott had arrived early, and was waiting outside of the super jet when Remy parked the car. He walked over to them. It was hard to tell what kind of look he was giving Kurt because of his glasses.

"You took your sweet time." He commented to Rogue's brother.

Kurt made a face. "You could have told us you were coming early."

"You left your phone off."

Kurt reached into his pocket and took out a rather funky-looking phone.

"Oops." he said, trying to pull off an innocent look.

Scott gave a long suffering sigh. "You know you're not supposed to turn that off. What if something....what if there was a problem and we needed to reach you?" he asked, and Remy thought it sounded as if the other man had stopped himself from saying something else.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should stay down here, Rogue. You see what I have to put up with?"

Ororo, ever the calm one, broke in. "Scott, you're being rude. Aren't you going to introduce yourself to Kurt's sister?"

Scott had the good sense to look embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm Scott Summers. It's nice to meet you." he said, and took Rogue's hand carefully. She flinched only a little before returning the handshake.

"Rogue Darkholme. Nice to meet you too." she said hesitantly.

"And this is Remy LeBeau." said Ororo once Scott let go of Rogue's hand. Remy shook the older man's hand, fighting the urge to squeeze too hard. _Guess there is something to all that alpha male stuff people go on about_ he thought to himself. It wasn't that he had anything against Scott, he didn't know him well enough, it was just that he seemed like such a stiff that Remy wanted to get under his skin and tweak him a bit. A few jokes concerning proctology crossed his mind but he didn't want to push it.

"So, are you two ready to go?" Scott asked, looking at Kurt and Ororo. "The Professor wants a staff meeting tonight."

"Sure, give me a minute." Kurt said, and hugged his sister. "I had a great time this weekend. We need to do it again."

"Yeah." Rogue smiled as she wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him back. "It was so good to have you here."

Ororo hugged both Rogue and Remy while Kurt grabbed their bags out of the trunk.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He said to Rogue.

Rogue nodded. "Okay."

"Um, bye guys. Good to meet you both." Scott said before heading back to the plane. Kurt took Ororo's hand and teleported into the plane. Scott shook his head.

"I hate it when he shows off like that." Remy heard him mutter.

A few minutes later the plane took off. Remy watched it fly for a minute before glancing at Rogue.

"Well, I need to get you back."

"Yeah. Candace'll blow a fuse if she finds out I was late." Rogue said.

Remy opened the car door for her then got into the driver's seat.

"Did you have a good time this weekend?" He asked as they drove back to the home.

"Yes I did. Thank you so much for having us over. Thank your father too." Rogue smiled.

"It was our pleasure. Mercy likes having another girl around. She and Ororo seemed to get along pretty well."

"Can....can we do it again some time?" Rogue asked hesitantly.

"_Oui._ I think your brother's finally getting used to me." Remy knew that Kurt hadn't liked the idea of his sister spending so much time with a thief, but he had seemed to relax around Remy more this weekend. This was good, as he planned to spend as much time with his friend, both within and outside of the terms of his community service, as he could before she left in November.

"I know." Rogue said. "I thought he was being ridiculous, complaining to me over the phone about being forced to spend time with a criminal."

Remy wanted to protest, as that word made him seem so evil, but that was technically what he was. He was a Thief; he broke the law on a regular basis and had finally gotten caught doing it. It didn't mean he had to like the label. His father had said once that they were just as much criminals as all these politicians who screwed the people out of their money; the Guild was just more honest about it. Remy liked that reasoning.

When they got to the home Remy took Rogue's bag and followed her to her room. He didn't leave when they got there though, he just sat on the bed as she unpacked and peaked through the box that Candace had taken out of storage and was still on her bed.

"Do you mind if I look in here?" he asked Rogue, having already started before asking permission.

"Nah, go ahead. No secret stuff in there or anything." she said.

There books printed in Braille, and Remy had come along enough in his practice with it to be able to read the titles. There were classics mixed in with popular fiction titles. Rogue was fan of Anne Rice, Stephen King and Terry Pratchett, among others. There were also a few CD's, and pictures; some of Rogue by herself, others of Irene and Rogue with friends. There was also one of a good-looking young boy, and Remy wondered if that had maybe been a boyfriend. Towards the side of the box was a smaller cardboard box. Curious, he picked it up.

"What's this white box?"

"It's a music box. I got it for Christmas one year." Rogue said from within her closet. "You can open it if you want."

Opening the box, he took out the carefully wrapped contents. It was a silver filigree box with a beautifully dressed couple on top. Remy wound up the box and it played a complicated, tinkling melody that he thought sounded familiar but couldn't put a name to. The couple on top danced, their movements so fluid that it almost seemed real.

"This is beautiful, _petite. _ I've never seen anything like it." Remy said, impressed. The craftsmanship was excellent and couldn't have been cheap.

"Thanks." Rogue said. "Irene said it was specially made." She came out out from the closet and made her way over to the bed. "You can leave it out; I haven't listened to it in a long time."

Remy set the box on her desk, where it continued to play. "I'm gonna go ahead and get out of here." he said. "Etienne's Tilling is next weekend, so I won't be able to have you over to the house."

Rogue shrugged. "That's okay, Martine usually gives me enough homework to keep me occupied." she said.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then _chere_." Remy said, briefly brushing the top of her hair with his hand before leaving the room. Driving home, he thought that maybe he should have brought up the subject of last night, since everyone else seemed so concerned about it. In fact he was positive that that had been why Kurt had come to see her before going to bed last night, but he wasn't sure how to bring up the subject. She hadn't mentioned it, and he didn't want to make either of them uncomfortable by talking about it. It didn't mean anything, it was just a dance between friends, and if they didn't talk about it it would just go away and they would continue as they had been. So instead he put it out of his mind and concentrated on the plans for his cousin's Tilling, and the party they'd have once Etienne proved himself ready to be a Thief.

O-o-o-o-O

AN: Just so everyone can follow the time line, Forge's escape and car accident are happening at the same time as the events in Chapter 25 and 27.


	28. Final Exams

O-o-o-o-O

It was late Friday afternoon when Forge reached New Orleans. The stores were closing for the day at the same time that the bars were opening for happy hour. He drove again as he didn't want to wait for whatever the next flight was, and he didn't want to risk getting caught at the airport. It was only a matter of time before Erik tracked him back to Dallas. The drive was only about six or seven hours, but so quickly on top of the trip from New York it felt like he had been driving forever.

He glanced around as he entered the city limits. He had only been to New Orleans once, years ago with some buddies to celebrate graduating boot camp. They hadn't managed to make it in time for Mardi Gras, but there was still enough entertainment to be had that they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Well, most of them had, anyway. He and Raven had just broken up so that had put a damper on what otherwise would have been a very good time. Now here he was, back again eighteen years later. Forge doubted he'd have a chance to have a good time this time around either. Of course, nobody said he had to leave New Orleans once he found Rogue. He hadn't decided what he was going to do or where they would go once he found her; if Erik didn't follow him here perhaps they could stay awhile. Once again he had missed out on Mardi Gras, but there was still plenty to see and do.

That was something he'd have to decide pretty soon, what to do and where to go once he found his daughter. Going back to Dallas was out of the question as Erik would be looking for him to return there. Professor Xavier was also a bad choice for the same reason. Forge supposed they could get out of the country; Rogue didn't have a passport but he had some government contacts that could help them get out. And after that? Well, he wasn't rich but as an inventor for the government he did pretty well for himself, and the combination of his experience in weapons design and a doctorate in mechanical engineering could guarantee him a high-paying job just about anywhere in the world. He'd have to ask Rogue where she would like to go. That led to another question though. Would she even want to go? Basically he'd stayed away from her for her entire life; would she accept him? Could she forgive him? Forge wasn't sure sometimes if he could forgive himself. Yes, Destiny had talked him into it, but ultimately he was the one who had made the choice to go along with what she wanted. And he'd spend the rest of his life trying to make up for that if necessary. He had to, he was all she had left.

Well, _technically_ that wasn't true...............

That was the last question. Forge had met Kurt years after Raven's death, after the young man had come to live at Xavier's. He had been shocked when he found out Raven had already had a child before they met; it was just one more thing that she and Irene had kept from him. He liked Kurt; the young man was honorable, intelligent and fun to be around. And as devoted to family as he was, he would be a wonderful brother to Rogue. And in there lay Forge's dilemma. As much as he resented, and sometimes even hated Irene for what she had talked him into, could he do the same thing to his daughter, and keep her from part of her family? He didn't know if he could do it. It was well past time to do right by her. It would mean bringing her to Charles Xavier though, and to the notice of the mutant community. It wasn't that he had anything against Charles; they had been friends for years and even though he wasn't a member of the X-Men Forge assisted him with the creation of numerous technical devices, including Kurt's image inducer. Under normal circumstances Forge would have taken Rogue to meet Xavier years ago, and most definitely after her mutation developed, but for the knowledge of Destiny's prophecies. Raised in the Cheyenne community, he knew and believed in the power of the shamans; he himself had been trained to be one, although it had been a long time since he had touched that part of himself. The power of prophecy was an old and revered tradition, so he believed Irene when she spoke of Rogue's future. The image of his child lying dead in what he would later recognize as an X-Man uniform had been in his mind's eye for years since then.

Forge sighed as he started looking around for a hotel. He was left with a choice now; he couldn't leave the decisions to others, couldn't shirk his responsibilities anymore. At one time he thought he might have continued with what Destiny said was necessary. It wasn't supposed to have been forever anyway. It was different now though; Irene had lied, to him and to Erik, and while Forge thought she may have been hoping that Erik wouldn't discover the lie, it was too late, and now Forge was in over his head. He couldn't handle Magneto on his own, but if he ran he would continue to be just as guilty as Irene in hurting his child. As much as he didn't like it, and the part of him that had justified to himself what he was doing for years cried out against it, ultimately he didn't have much choice if he wanted to be forgiven and be a part of Rogue's life. In the end there was no choice. When he found Rogue he'd have to take her to New York to meet her brother, and hope that for once Destiny could be wrong, that he and Charles could be strong enough to stop what was coming.

He found a respectable-looking hotel in one of the more suburban areas of the city and checked in. Forge supposed he should be looking for that hospital Irene had been treated at after he checked in, but he hadn't slept since leaving the hospital in New York a couple of days ago so the minute he entered the room he made sure the door was locked, and after closing the curtains and dropping his bag, he let himself collapse onto the bed and was asleep in seconds.

O-o-o-o-O

Yes, it was possible to commit burglary in daytime; breaking and entering could be done at any time of day if done right. Mercy was a very classy thief, and could pull off a heist in broad daylight without breaking a nail; Theoren specialized in electronics, not even having to leave home to commit corporate theft , but Remy was a traditionalist. There was just something about the dead of night that felt right to him. It was more intimate; no one else there to worry about or perform for, just him, the night and the target. Between himself, Theoren and Henri, they had managed to teach that to Etienne as well. His cousin was next to him as they both lay flat on their stomachs on a rooftop a couple of buildings away from the warehouse that was their target. Both carried high-powered binoculars and watched the night shift carry on with their work; forklifts moved crates from the warehouse onto a ship sitting at the nearby dock. It was a relatively cool night in comparison to the warmth of the preceding day, with just enough cloud cover that it obscured the moon. Remy was glad of this; the last thing they wanted was a nice, bright moonlit area. He had his own ideas about how he would do this, but this was Etienne's show and Remy was just along for the ride.

"So Et, what now?" he asked in a whisper.

"Cross the street back there where the light's out." Etienne whispered back with a smirk, and Remy nodded, recognizing the spot where vandals had just _happened_ to have smashed the street lamp covering that section of road the night before.

"_Oui._ And then?"

"Around back to the separate entrance leading to the office. There's a utility shed next to the warehouse. You keep watch from the roof while I get into the office and retrieve the files. If anyone comes, you page me. Okay?"

"Alright." Remy replied. "Have you checked everything, made sure there's nothing you missed?"

Etienne paused, looking over the area again through his binoculars. "No, everything looks okay to me."

Remy winced internally. He was hoping that his cousin would have noticed that the workers were armed. It was only to be expected as the area around the docks could get rough sometimes. One thing he was being graded on though was observation, so Remy couldn't say anything. He would just have to keep an extra sharp eye out, and hope that nobody decided to wander out back for a cigarette break. The car they had stolen to use for this job was just parked on the next street over, not too far if they were running, but Etienne would lose points if anyone spotted them.

"Fine. Ready to go, _mon ami_?" Remy asked.

"Yep." Etienne said, and put his binoculars away in the small backpack he carried. Remy did the same, and got up into a crouching position. They scaled back down the side of the building facing the alley, and quietly moved, always keeping to the darkest part of the street. It was Saturday night, so the occasional car full of drunken kids passed by, its occupants looking for trouble. Down in this neighborhood they'd be likely to find it too. Their target wasn't the most reputable of companies, and had often been inspected by both the police and U.S. Customs. Remy wasn't sure what exactly it was they were shipping that his client wanted to know about so badly, but then again it wasn't any of his business to know. They were just here to get the information and leave.

They crossed the street at the darkened area, and made their way to warehouse. There were floodlights around the front of the building and the area where the workers were loading the ship, but towards the back there was just a simple light above the door to the manager's office. Only part of the utility shed was lit, and that only dimly. If Remy stayed toward the back of the roof he would be out of sight. The two stopped by the darkened side of the shed and made sure their pagers were on.

"Keep an eye out, and be quick." Remy said, gripping his cousin's shoulder briefly. Etienne nodded, and backed away from the shed. The shed was only eight feet high and Remy climbed it quickly, but winced as the metal roof creaked under his weight. The view from the roof was decent, but not as good as he would have liked, and the creakiness he didn't like at all, but he didn't see too many other choices for a lookout. Of course there were other buildings near the warehouse, but they were higher up and he wouldn't be able to get down as quickly if Etienne got into any trouble. So he just sighed quietly, made sure he was out of the light, and settled down to keep an eye on his cousin.

Etienne kept to the shadow along the side of the shed, and waited. The noise of a forklift went past, and Remy saw the light above the office door go out as Etienne threw a rock at it. There was barely any movement seen when his cousin crossed quickly to the door, and a minute later he was in. This was the touchiest part. Etienne hadn't been able to get any info on where the information they needed was, or what the security was like in the office itself. Remy couldn't imagine anything fancier than an expensive safe though, and Etienne had received high marks in safe-cracking.

Time passed. No movement could be seen in the dark office, not even the pinprick of Etienne's penlight. The only noise was the sound of the workers in and around the warehouse as they went about their jobs. Remy grew concerned; it shouldn't be taking this long. He debated going down and checking things out, but this was Etienne's job and he should be given time to complete it. There was no ruckus going on out in front, no shouts or alarms. Besides, he was probably just having trouble with the safe, or wherever the files were kept. Just in case though, he paged his cousin, and waited. No response. Five more minutes. He'd give him five more minutes.

Five minutes later, there was still no sign of Etienne, and the office was just as dark and silent as ever. Remy decided he couldn't wait any longer, there had to have been some kind of trouble. He climbed down from the shed, cursing silently as the roof creaked again, and crept over to the office. He turned the doorknob slowly and peaked his head in. "Et?" he whispered, barely able to see anything with only a faint light coming through the window.

Silence.

_Okay, now I'm getting worried_ Remy thought to himself, and stepped into the office.

"Etienne?" He whispered again. Still nothing. Remy took another couple of steps further into the office, first shutting the door behind him. Looking around the room again, he saw nothing until his eye caught what looked like a foot sticking out from behind a desk. Remy recognized his cousin's favorite boots and moved over to him, worried that maybe the boy had tripped and hit his head.

"Etienne, you okay?" he whispered as he crouched down beside the foot, trying to see around the side of the desk to where his cousin lay.

"About as okay as you'll be, kid." came a deep voice from behind him. The next thing Remy knew was a sharp, massive pain to the back of his head, and then darkness.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy was brought to consciousness by a sharp kick to his side. Wincing, he shifted and found himself to be in a sitting position. He tried to move his hand in order to balance himself more easily, but discovered that his hands were tied in front of him. Apparently whoever had done this to him had seen enough movies that he hadn't wanted Remy to try to free himself from behind.

"Open your eyes kid, I know you're awake." came a familiar voice. Remy recognized it as belonging to the man who had knocked him out.

Remy reluctantly opened his eyes. Partially because the man had told him to, and he really didn't want to get kicked again, partially because he needed to see where he was so he could start planning his escape, and partially because he needed to see how Etienne was. Hopefully he was just knocked out like Remy had been; he didn't think he could forgive himself if anything happened to his cousin.

Opening his eyes, it looked like he was probably inside the rear of the warehouse; there were boxes and crates around them, and he could hear machinery and voices not too far away. In front of him was a tall, bulky, scruffy-looking man with a gun in his hand. Next to him were three other men who were also armed. They were all dressed like dockworkers. Glancing over to his side, he saw Etienne sitting a few feet away, similarly bound and and a man standing just to his side and slightly behind him with a gun to his head. Remy suspected that if he looked up he would find the same thing. He decided to stay silent for now, and see what these guys were going to do. He and Etienne had no plausible-sounding explanation for why they were in the office. These guys were probably going to call the cops. Hell, they had probably called the cops already, and were just waiting for New Orleans' Finest to get here. If Remy sat tight though, maybe he could find a way to get them out of here, because there was no way he could get caught again. Etienne would probably get off lightly because he was a minor and it was his first offense, but this was Remy's second time so he was well and truly fucked. No community service this time, no second chance; he would go straight to jail, the combination of the robbery and violating his probation being a double whammy.

He couldn't stand to think what would happen after that. His _pere_ would be disappointed in him, along with the rest of the family. The wedding would have to be called off, unless Marius was willing to agree to allow his daughter to marry an incarcerated man. And jail would be the only safe place for him, as Belle would be ready to kill him. He was sure that Julien would be thrilled though. And Rogue........she would be back to being by herself again, as she'd have no reason to visit the LeBeau's with Remy in jail. He hoped she would go ahead and try to get out of New Orleans before her birthday if that happened; he liked to think that he was the reason for her staying and with him in jail she'd have more reason to leave. Okay, well, he _hoped_ he was the reason she stayed. Still, without him around to look out for her it was best for Rogue to get out of the state as soon as possible with the way things were going.

For now though.........

Remy turned his head around to look up and sure enough, another man with a gun stood over him; the gun at almost the right angle for him to be able to look up the barrel. He turned quickly back around to face the man in front of him, hoping that Etienne remembered the first of what Emil called 'Jean-Luc's Rules of Apprehension': _Keep your mouth shut._ In other words, don't say anything that could give away information about yourself and what you're doing. Besides, Remy wasn't supposed to be trying anything anyway; this was Etienne's heist, his final exam of sorts, he was supposed to call the shots. But the look of terror on his cousin's face told him that there was no help to be found there. Etienne was in no mental condition to be plotting an escape. Remy would have to try to sit quiet until either he thought of a way out of this or the cops arrived, whichever happened first. Hopefully the former.

"Who are you, kid, and what do you think you're doing here?" the tall, scruffy guy said menacingly.

"Mormons, _m'sieur_." Remy said cheekily. "New program to cater to the night shift. Night owls need saving too; some more than others." he continued, taking a look at the group standing around him and Etienne. "Have you found Jesus, my brother?" Remy asked in his most pious-sounding voice.

Remy was rewarded for this with another kick in the side, and he grunted at the pain, wishing he could just curl up into a ball. "Apparently not." he groaned. _So much for Rule #1. Oh well, I never was any good with rules anyway._

"Okay wise-ass." the scruffy guy snarled. "You can quit playing. I don't need your names, 'cause I already know who sent you."

"Oh? And who might that be?" Remy asked, trying to adjust himself into a more comfortable position. So far he wasn't having much luck.

"That old man across town." Scruffy said smugly, naming Jean-Luc's client. "We've had a guy on the inside there for months now."

_Great, another setup_ Remy thought to himself in disgust. _Well at least this time it wasn't personal._ They didn't seem to know that he was a mutant, and he preferred to keep it that way until the very last minute.

A voice came from behind. "Five minutes, Jake." Scruffy nodded in response.

"So what are you gonna tell the cops when they get here?" Remy asked. "You gonna tell them who you think sent us or just play innocent?"

Jake looked down at him, a thin smirk on his face. "Who ever said we called the cops? Our boss wants to have a few words with you." he said. "Then he'll decide what to do with you after that."

Remy swallowed. If the cops weren't going to be involved in this then he had a feeling they were in really big trouble. He didn't want to try to guess at the number of bodies lying at the bottom of the harbor, and a couple of thieves would never be missed. If it weren't for the gun pointing right at Etienne's head, close enough that even Rogue couldn't miss, then Remy would be blowing this warehouse sky-high. But it was there, and he didn't think he'd be able to free himself and grab something to charge in time to stop the creep next to Etienne from putting a bullet into his skull. Glancing in that direction, he saw his cousin try to look brave by giving him a wink, even though Remy could see that he was obviously terrified. He was glad Etienne was trying to hold it together. There was no way now that he could pass his Tilling; besides their getting caught he had missed the fact that the guards were armed, but maybe if...._when_....they got out of this Remy could get together with Theoren and design some new training scenarios based on this experience. It would probably be close to a year before he'd be able to test again, but Remy would make sure he'd be better prepared next time...........

A sharp rap to the head brought him out of his thoughts.

"You listening to me, kid?" Jake asked harshly. Apparently he had still been talking.

"'m sorry, were you still speaking?" Remy replied uncaringly, wishing he had his hands free. One to rub his now aching head, the other to grab a card to charge and shove down this bastard's throat.

Jake snorted. "Just keep it up. We'll see how much longer you laugh once the Pig gets here."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Does your boss know you talk about him like that?"

"That's his _name_, wise-ass." Jake said.

"I'd hate to think what his real name is if he chose this one to replace it." Remy commented dryly. He knew he was probably just digging himself deeper into trouble, but if he kept their attention on him they'd be leaving Etienne alone and maybe by the time this Pig fellow arrived he'd have thought of a way of getting them out of this mess.

"He's here!" came a voice from the front of the warehouse.

_No such luck. _Remy thought to himself.

The sound of a thumping step on the concrete floor of the warehouse proceeded what turned out to be a rather obese, middle-aged man. Remy thought the only polite way to describe him would be _portly. _Clothed in what could only be a tailor-made suit, as Remy didn't think the average store carried such a large size, the man known as the Pig had a pasty white face, a small, tight mouth and malicious eyes. Those eyes swept over his unwilling guests as he joined his employees.

"So who do we have here?" the Pig asked in a deep, smug voice.

"A couple of visitors sent by your friend across town." Jake said sarcastically. "I think they might be Guild; if your plant hadn't given us the heads up we may not have caught them."

"Did they find anything?" Jake's boss asked, glaring at him.

"No. The kid was getting into the safe when we caught him."

"Good." the Pig said, and glanced at Etienne. "That just saved you and your friend's lives. It does leave the question of what to do with you now though."

"They are rather pretty, don't you think?" Jake asked. "Maybe we could add them to this shipment. The older one would get a good price I think. There are people out there that would pay extra for mutants, especially with eyes like those."

Remy felt a slice of fear go through him. Surely the man couldn't be suggesting what Remy thought he was suggesting, could he? Remy was all in favor of free trade, regardless of little things such as laws regarding theft and stolen property, but some things were just sick.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, moving his hands slightly to see if he could get them into a position where he wouldn't burn himself if he had to charge the rope.

The Pig smirked. "Take a look at that crate you're leaning up against." he said.

Remy twisted around warily, afraid of what he might see. What he saw confirmed his fear, for between the slats of the crate he could see the small figure of what looked like a little girl, unconscious. Remy's face twisted in outrage.

"You sick fuck!" he exclaimed. "She's just a kid. Aren't there enough _adults_ out there willing to go whoring for you?"

The Pig crossed his arms across his chest and smiled. "My clients prefer a little more youth in their playthings. And whatever the customer wants, the customer gets. And besides, they're treated well, for the most part." He said with an uncaring shrug.

"Yeah, I can see how well you treat them." Remy said, nodding his head towards the crate behind him.

His 'host' just shrugged again. "I can't exactly get so many children out of the country unnoticed otherwise. Customs tends to notice such things."

_That would explain why the Feds have been so interested in him_ Remy thought. _So who is this old man that these creeps keep mentioning? Papa said it was a competitor. I'd hate to think there's more than one of these assholes in town._

"So who's this 'old man' you mentioned?" Remy asked.

"Are you telling me you don't know your own boss?" Jake asked. "He's the chief agent at the U.S. Customs office here in New Orleans."

_The Feds had hired the Guild?!!? _ Remy thought in shock. He couldn't believe it. Wasn't that like, illegal or something? And did Jean-Luc know who his client was?

"You've got to be kidding." Remy said out loud. "I don't believe you. Why would the Customs office hire people to break into here?"

The Pig laughed. "Because the old man doesn't have anything on me to get a warrant to search this place." he said.

Remy looked confused. "He'd never be able to do anything with the info though since he didn't get it legally."

"True, but he doesn't exactly play by the rules. Once he finds what he wants, he'd have me _disappear_." the Pig said, "and have the whole thing look however he wants to the press."

"Unbelievable." Remy said, shaking his head. Wasn't there anyone these days who couldn't be corrupted?

"Of course this doesn't exactly help you and your friend here." the Pig said smugly.

"Aren't we a little old for your clients' tastes?" Remy asked, hoping against hope to reason with him.

"For most of them, yes. But there are a few who aren't that picky about age, and would pay a very nice price for either or both of you."

Remy's heart sunk. This was just getting worse and worse by the minute. There had to be a way out of this, otherwise he and Etienne were in for a whole world of trouble. If it weren't for those damn guns at their heads...

Piggy-boy took his main henchman to talk quietly. Remy glanced down the ropes tying his hands together, and wiggled them a bit, seeing if he could loosen them any further. The dockworker next to him shifted, and Remy could feel the barrel of the pistol brush against his hair. A turn of his head showed him that Etienne's guard had relaxed a little to lean against the crate behind him. An idea was creeping into his head. It was risky, and he could hurt himself badly if it didn't work, but the alternative was slavery or death if he did nothing. Now if he could just move fast enough...

Remy groaned and leaned forward, tilting to the side as if in pain from the kicks Jake had given him. He wasn't completely faking; his side hurt like hell and would be bruised badly tomorrow. It allowed him the cover he needed to block the guard's view of his hands. His shoulder brushed slightly against the guard's leg and the man took a step back. For the first time in years he whispered a tiny prayer as he charged a section of the rope just enough for it to blow apart in a tiny _poof_ of smoke, then raising up quickly he grabbed the barrel of the guard's gun and charged it, the metal of the gun turning a bright pink. The only problem with this was that the glove that covered Remy's hand charged too, and if he had to explode the gun he was risking serious damage to his hand. Small price to pay though, if it got them out of there.

The guard yelped in surprise and let go of the gun, backing away quickly. This caught the attention of Jake and his boss, and Remy faced them, an evil smirk on his face.

"You don't know me _m'sieur_, so I'll tell you what's gonna happen here. You're gonna let me and my friend go, or I let go of this gun, and she go _boom._ Not a huge explosion, but I guarantee you I'll take out you and several of your friends. Maybe me too, but I figure that's a better option than what you've got planned. So what'll it be, hmm?" Remy held his breath. Hopefully Piggy-boy would be smart and let them go. He and Etienne would get the hell out of here, then call the cops and this Customs guy to come and grab the Pig and his men before they could hide these kids away. Who knew, maybe he could start out on a heist and end up a hero? It would be interesting, at least.

The Pig watched him warily.

"Take it easy kid, let's not get hasty here." he said, then gave his lackey an evil look Remy guessed that Jake hadn't told his boss that one of his captives was a mutant.

The Pig faced him again. "How do I know you're not bluffing?" he asked. "You could just be giving us a pretty light show."

If anything, Remy's smirk became a little more wicked. "As you wish." he said smugly, and his free hand to pick up the rope that had bound him a few minutes ago. He charged it until it gave off a brilliant glow, then threw it past them into a more open area of the warehouse. The charged rope landed on the concrete and exploded with a loud BOOM, making a crater in the floor and causing pieces of concrete to go flying, scratching the faces and skin of those not lucky enough to have ducked out of the way in time.

Remy looked up at the Pig, who wasn't looking quite so confident anymore. "I throw this at you now, you'll end up like that too; it'll just be a little messier." he said. Hopefully Piggy boy would wise up soon; Remy wasn't sure how much longer he could hold onto this gun before it gave off one hell of an explosion, and despite his brave words, his nineteenth birthday was next week and he'd like to live to see it.

"Okay kid, you've got my attention." said the Pig, who appeared to be taking Remy much more seriously now.

"Good." nodded Remy. "Now let's get back to the part where you're going to let us go."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." the Pig agreed hastily. "You gotta understand though, I'm a businessman whose merchandise is a little...controversial. How do I know you won't sic the cops on me the minute you're out of here?"

Remy's smirk changed to a rather dark smile. "You don't. But if you let us go, you might live long enough to get a head start before they get here. So let's go. Untie my friend, NOW." he commanded, his eyes glowing even more demonically than usual.

The Pig's men hesitated; then glanced over at their boss. The huge man grimaced. "Do as he says."

"Stop!" Remy called out. "Before you do that, put all your guns in a pile over in that corner." he said, indicating a corner down at one side of the room. Jake reluctantly had one of the men collect everyone's guns and deposit them where ordered, then went to untie Etienne. The young man stood up carefully, rubbing his wrists from where they had been tied. Remy could tell that his cousin was even more frightened than before. He had every right to be; Remy was playing a dangerous game here and who knew how long it would last before their luck ran out. Remy didn't dare blow up the gun here in the warehouse, not with the kids sitting in here with no way out. Piggy boy didn't know that though, and Remy didn't want to give him a chance to realize it.

He slid gracefully to his feet, and looked at the man he'd stolen the gun from. "Back off. Go join your friends." he said. The man quickly moved to get away from Remy and the glowing bomb that was once the man's pistol.

Remy stepped away from the crate and out further into the open space, close to where the rope had exploded. He nodded to Etienne.

"Go on ahead; I'll catch up."

His cousin looked like he wanted to say something, but apparently thought better of it and started walking quickly out of the warehouse. Remy walked backwards behind him, keeping his eyes on the Pig, Jake, and the other men.

"I suppose I should say something about finding a new line of work." Remy said sarcastically as he backed out of the warehouse. "But I doubt you'd listen. So here's hoping you just rot in hell."

Reaching the entrance, he turned around and ran out into the floodlit area of the dock. Near the entrance he found Etienne waiting for him.

"You idiot!" Remy said angrily, smacking his cousin upside the head. "What are you still doing here? You should be halfway to the car by now!"

"I....I couldn't leave you here Remy." Etienne said nervously.

Remy muttered a few choice words under his breath and looked around. There was a long black limo parked in front of the warehouse. _Nice ride_ he thought to himself. _I think it's the least he can do to compensate us for pain, suffering and lost wages. _He was about to express his thoughts to his cousin when the doors to the limo opened and two armed men climbed out.

_Merde. Of course he'd come with guards. _

The car was parked so that it blocked their way out to the street. Their only option was off the dock. He and Etienne were both good swimmers; they could make their way down to another dock, climb out there and jack a car to get home. Remy grabbed Etienne's arm roughly with his free hand and tugged him toward the river.

"Come on, we're going to have to swim for it."

Etienne nodded, trying to keep up with his faster cousin. The river was less than a hundred yards away; the ship that the Pig's men had been loading their 'cargo' onto was pulled right up to the dock near them. There were shouts behind them as the Pig's guards got out of the car, and Remy could hear the other men coming out of the warehouse; no doubt having retrieved their guns first. His suspicion was confirmed when a bullet grazed his ear; another landed in a wooden post as he passed by.

Remy felt the gun in his hand. The heat it gave off was painful. They were still too close for the explosion to be safe, but running away from armed men, one of whom at least seemed to be a halfway decent shot and probably wouldn't miss for too much longer, wasn't much safer. Remy carefully peeled the glove from his hand so that it wrapped up the gun, looked behind him, and threw it back towards the men chasing him.

"LOOK OUT!!!" he yelled to his cousin just before the blast happened.

The explosion was enormous. He must not have thrown it as far as he thought, because the force of it threw both him and Etienne into the air. Etienne had been the one closest to the ship, and the force of the blast lifted him straight up and into the side of it, smacking his cousin's head against the thick steel of the hull.

"ETIENNE!!" Remy screamed as he was thrown clear of the ship and into the water. Etienne slid down the side of the ship and flopped into the water. Remy swam towards him quickly, watching him all the while, praying that he would just _move_, but Etienne just lay there; bobbing on the water. Remy reached his cousin's side and lifted his head up. His cousin's face looked up at him, eyes wide open and turning glassy, no movement, no sign of breath. The back of his head felt unnaturally soft, and Remy felt a queasiness in his stomach. His right hand had burned from having held the charged gun for so long, so Remy peeled the glove off of his left hand and checked Etienne for a pulse. There was the sound of a fire burning up above them, and the shouts of men echoed into the otherwise quiet night, but Remy didn't hear it. His concentration was completely on the body he held in his arms and the wet unmoving skin where he should have felt a pulse. Desperately he tried the other wrist, and then the neck.

Nothing. Remy couldn't breathe.

"Damn you Et, wake up, come on." he whispered pleadingly. Any second now his cousin would open his eyes, throw up the water that had undoubtedly gathered from swallowing it, and razz Remy about his bad aim. But it wasn't happening. Remy opened his mouth to speak but all that would come out was a strangled croak. Frightened more than he had ever been in his life, he started pulling Etienne's body toward the shore; he'd have a much easier time trying to resuscitating him on dry land, that was all. It was slow going, Remy wasn't used to dragging heavy objects while swimming, but finally he found a dark patch of land between two neighboring docks. He dragged his cousin up onto the shore and knelt down; trying to use the CPR he had learned from the class he had barely passed, but nothing. No heartbeat. No pulse. No breath. Remy grabbed a small leaf from the tree hanging over head and lighting it, held it near to Etienne's eyes to see if his pupils would react, but still nothing.

Remy heaved as a massive wave of nausea overtook him, but somehow he managed to not throw up. He didn't know what to do. Belle would probably be able to handle this kind of situation, but moving bodies wasn't something Jean-Luc usually covered in his training. How did this happen? It was just supposed to be a nice little heist; they'd go in, grab the files, and go home to party the night away to celebrate. He'd been looking forward to getting the boy drunk for the first time. Now he had a burning dock, from the screams there were more than likely at least a few men wounded or worse, and here he was, hiding under a tree on a little piece of dark shore, the dank water of the Mississippi dripping from his clothes, while his cousin lay here.........

No. He couldn't even think the word. He couldn't acknowledge what his heart and mind were screaming at him. There was no time. The cops would be coming soon enough; there would be a massive search of the shore, and they'd be found. They had to get out of here fast. Remy realized there was no way he'd be able to get out of here quickly and unnoticed while carrying a body. He hated to even think it, but he had to leave Etienne behind. He could hide him here beneath the tree; there was enough debris from accidents and litterbugs that he could cover the body well enough until he could come back with Henri and Theoren and........oh god, Theoren. Remy had promised to look after his little brother and now....

_STOP IT!_ his mind shouted to him. And Remy stopped. There was no time now. He had to go. Carefully he bent over and kissed his cousin's forehead.

"I'll be back, Et." He whispered. Then he carefully moved his cousin over to the tree and covered him with various debris and refuse that was lying around. Then, he got up, looked down at where he was leaving his cousin and ran, a deep sharp kernel of self-loathing building in his heart.


	29. Aftermath

O-o-o-o-O

The light coming from the windows at the back of his home gave Remy powerful feelings of both relief and dread. Relief to reach home and safety after the hell he had just gone through; and dread of what he would face once he entered that door and what he had to tell his family. Jacking the first car he could find that wouldn't give him too much trouble, he had shoved down the panic inside and made himself drive in what he hoped was a reasonable fashion back home. The last thing he needed was to get pulled over now.

He knew he should stop and find a phone. With that fire (_explosion.....screams.....Etienne's head smashed against the hull of the ship...) _raging at the dock, the police would be there in no time. But they would be busy assisting the fire department and interviewing witnesses; Remy doubted that they would be taking the time to investigate the cargo of the ship docked there, and the Pig would have time to escape, and possibly take his 'merchandise' with him. Remy should be at the first phone he could find, calling the cops to tell them about what was on that ship. But Etienne was laying under a pile of leaves and refuse beneath a tree (_cold, wet skin......glassy eyes staring at nothing...)_. Hopefully he could make the call in time once he got home, but first he had to get home because he couldn't leave his cousin alone there in the dark.

Remy stopped beneath one of the trees in his back yard to catch his breath. Not wanting to leave a trail leading to his home, he had parked the stolen car about a mile away from the house and had gone on foot the rest of the way, making his way as quickly as possible through the back yards and gardens of his neighbors; places he and his brother and cousins had crept through their entire lives. Finally he stepped away from the tree, and steeling himself for what would happen next but still not knowing what he was going to say, he walked quickly to the back door. He barely had his hand on the knob though when it turned and opened on its own. Remy looked up to see Henri, worry written all over his face.

"Get in here." His brother commanded, grabbing Remy's hand and dragging him into the house. Behind him were the rest of the family; even Tante Mattie, which was surprising as she usually paid little attention to the actual workings of the family business. All of them looked as concerned as Henri.

"What happened?" Henri continued once Remy was inside. "We've been listening on the police scanner; they mentioned an explosion at the docks....."

"Where's Etienne?" Theoren demanded, grabbing Remy's other arm. Remy froze and looked at his cousin, frantically trying to come up with words.

"Etie..." the word came out as a croak, and Remy swallowed before trying to speak again.

"Etienne......the ship......he fell.........wasn't breathing...." Remy stumbled over his words, looking frantically around the room for something to focus on, to help him think straight. Finally he found his father.

"That bastard. Did you know what he had? Did you know who we were working for?" he asked, grief and outrage helping him solidify his thoughts.

Jean-Luc opened his mouth but Theoren refused to be ignored.

"WHERE. IS. MY. BROTHER?!" He exclaimed, shaking Remy for emphasis. Remy tried to get away from his cousin, but the other man's grip was too strong.

"They said on the scanner that there was a body found aways down from the dock, beneath a tree. Was that him?" Henri asked grimly.

Remy nodded, relieved to be distracted from Theoren, even if momentarily. "He was too heavy, I couldn't get him away without us both being caught, so I left him th....."

"You left him? You left my brother there while you RAN?" Theoren growled, and Remy's jaw exploded in pain as his cousin punched him. He turned his head away, clutching at his face, and he could hear Henri and Emil argue with Theoren, pulling him away.

"He's probably at the county morgue by now." Henri said once they'd gotten Theoren under control. Remy couldn't look at them. He'd completely failed. He was supposed to help keep Etienne safe, but first he'd let his cousin die, then he'd abandoned him and now the boy's body was sitting in the morgue when he should be home safe with his family.

"What happened?" Jean-Luc spoke up at last, the tone of his voice allowing no refusal.

Remy swallowed and told them everything; about getting caught, the Pig and his cargo, what the man had said about the Guild's client and the mole he'd had in the organization, their escape attempt and the gun that had exploded too close to them, causing Etienne to be smashed against the ship.

"Did you know, Papa?" he asked when he was finished telling his story, finally able to look up at his father.

Jean-Luc nodded. "I knew. Our client was going to use the info to find where the Pig was taking his cargo, and to track down his buyers."

This info was met with surprise from around the room.

"Why didn't you tell us, and why would you work for the Feds?" Remy demanded.

"For one thing, it's none of your business; you take the assignments that you are given. You were supposed to just get the information and get out." Jean-Luc said. "But in this case, I will tell you that I owed the head Customs agent a favor. And it was for a good cause; some things just cannot be tolerated."

He looked around at his family. "Henri, I want you and Emil to go down to the morgue and retrieve Etienne's body."

Theoren looked at his uncle angrily. "That's my brother, I should go with them."

Jean-Luc shook his head sternly. "No. You're too upset, I won't have you possibly making a mistake. You need to go home to your parents; they're going to need you right now more than we do."

Theoren swallowed visibly, then nodded. His hands shook as he turned to Remy.

"This is your fault." He said quietly, and the hatred in his eyes hurt Remy more than he thought possible. He looked like he was going to say something more, but then Tante Mattie took his arm and hugged him, whispering quietly in his ear. Theoren nodded, and they left the room together.

Remy watched them go. "What about me, Papa?" he asked finally. "I need to call the police, that bastard is going to get away......"

"It's okay Remy." Jean-Luc interrupted. "I called them the minute the report about the explosion came over the scanner. I also called my client. He can use the investigation of the explosion to find what he needs to use against the Pig. Now what happened to your hand?" he asked, and Remy looked down at his right hand, which was covered in angry red splotches from where he had been holding the charged gun.

"The gun.....I held it so long it burned me......." he said a little absentmindedly, as he hadn't really thought about it since entering the house. "I'm sorry.......I tried to throw it as far as I could, but I held it too long, it was too powerful......" Remy said, going back over what had happened in his head again and again, trying to think of some way it could have gone differently. If only he had just thrown it farther.......

"It's not your fault Remy." Jean-Luc said, and Remy wanted to believe his father, but ultimately it _was_ his fault, he had been responsible for watching over Etienne, and he had failed. He just stared down at his hand, not wanting to look at his family and see the disappointment that just had to be in their eyes.

"He's right, _petit frere_." Henri said, calling him a name he hadn't used in years. "You couldn't know what would happen."

Still not looking at him, Remy heard his brother step away from him.

"Come on." Henri said to Emil. "Let's go get our cousin."

"_Oui._" Emil said quietly, the seriousness of the occasion apparently having curbed his smart tongue. Remy didn't envy him; the thought of having to break into a morgue was enough to give any man the creeps. _But to have to do it to get your own cousin........_he fought back a shudder.

The two young men left the room, leaving Remy with his father and sister in law.

"Come on Remy." Mercy said quietly. "Let's take care of that hand."

Remy ignored her though, and looked at his father. "Where will they take him?"

Jean-Luc glanced at the clock. "It's still early, but I'll call Marius. He has people who can help."

Remy thought grimly that perhaps for once it was good to have connections to people who dealt in death. Any normal funeral home would ask too many questions about a case like this.

Mercy took his arm. "Remy, let's go." she said more firmly this time. He relented, and let her take him from the room, leaving his father to make his phone calls.

O-o-o-o-O

Henri and Emil returned just before dawn, looking tired and numb. Remy was in the kitchen when they came in, nursing a cup of coffee that had long grown cold. Jean-Luc was in the library while Mercy had gone to her room, no one being able to go to sleep but at the same time not wanting to be in anyone else's company while they waited. Tante Mattie was at Theoren and Etienne's house, where she called to report that their mother had gone into hysterics upon receiving the news of her youngest son and had had to be sedated. Mattie said she was going to stay there for the time being to take care of the poor woman.

"How did it go?" Remy asked hesitantly when they came in.

"Fine." Henri replied quietly, dumping the dregs of the coffee pot into a mug. "Thankfully for us night shift's sloppy; they were running around like chickens because of the dock fire. Two other bodies came in besides Etienne." he said, and Remy's stomach turned; he had never taken another human life before, even indirectly. Added onto the fire of his guilt over Etienne it just made the blaze stronger. He had killed three people tonight.

"And?" Remy prompted, pushing his cup away, not being able to stand the sight of it anymore. Mercy had put one of Tante Matties salves on his burned hand so he was mostly using his left hand for now.

"Emil managed to get a hearse, though I still think an ambulance would have been better...."

"They're needed too badly for us to take one. At least I got us something to use." Emil broke in, and Remy was startled at the bitter tone in his cousin's voice. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised though, as he and Etienne had been good friends.

"Where is....he now?" Remy asked.

"Marius has a guy in his pocket that runs a funeral home." Henri said.

"Surprise, surprise." Emil muttered from where he was sitting at the end of the table.

Henri gave the younger man a dirty look. "He'll keep Etienne there until we can have services either Monday or Tuesday."

Remy sighed. Marius will have told his daughter by now. He supposed he should be concerned about what Belle will say; he already knew that Julien will have loads to say about it. He couldn't bring himself to care though. Etienne was dead, and Julien's or even Belle's thoughts on the subject really didn't matter.

"Thanks." Remy muttered. "This is all my fault" he said, burying his face in his good hand.

"Why did you wait so long to throw the damn gun?!" Emil asked in frustration.

"Because I could've blown up the warehouse otherwise. Some of those kids were in there." Remy retorted, not lifting his head. Jean-Luc's phone call earlier had done its job; it was all over the news now, what had been found on the ship and in the warehouse. The police were being hailed as heroes, and the chief Customs agent had everything he needed to go after the Pig, who unfortunately had managed to escape before the cops had arrived. The U.S. Customs office had the warrants they needed now, and the Pig wouldn't be able to show his face anywhere for quite awhile. In the meantime, the kids would be returned to their families, and the reporters on the scene were stirring up a war cry against white slavery. Remy was sure the various networks would have a field day for weeks to come doing investigations and special interest stories relating to this incident.

"But...." Emil started, but was interrupted by Henri.

"Shut up Emil. Remy didn't cause this. I don't think there was any way for this to come out clean." he said, sitting down at the table with his coffee.

Emil didn't say anything, he just stared down at the table for a moment. Finally he got up.

"I'm going to bed." he muttered, and left the kitchen without looking at either of the other two.

Henri sat at the table across from Remy, and dumped what had to be half the bowl of sugar into his cup.

"Your teeth are going to rot and fall out." Remy mumbled absentmindedly, picking on his brother's sweet tooth out of habit.

"Remy, I just went out and stole my cousin's body out of the fucking morgue. Leave me the hell alone." Henri snapped. "You have no idea....."

"No, I just had to watch him die, then drag his body out of the water." Remy replied in a wooden tone.

His brother sighed. "Sorry. Damnit.....I just can't understand how this could have happened."

"There has to have been something else I could have done differently." Remy said quietly, staring down at the table where some grains of sugar had spilled out of the bowl. He should wipe the table before going to bed; Tante always complained about ants....

"I don't see how, especially since they knew you were coming." Henri replied.

Remy just shook his head. "I killed him Henri." he said, still staring down at the table, not really seeing it; it was just somewhere to focus his gaze that wasn't his brother's face.

"Remy, stop it...."

"_I_ was the one who charged up that gun, _I_ was the one who didn't throw it far enough away." Remy said.

"What else were you supposed to do?" his brother asked.

"I don't KNOW!" Remy said in frustration. "There had to have been something else though; it shouldn't have come to this." He finally looked up from the table and out at the kitchen window, where the first pink of dawn was showing, just like it always did at this time of day, as if it were any other day and everything was okay. It had no right though, because this was no ordinary day and nothing would ever be okay again.

"I want a cigarette." Remy muttered at last, suddenly craving the harsh taste the tobacco would leave in his mouth and and the reek of smoke that would linger in his nostrils long after the cigarette was gone.

"You're supposed to be quitting." Henri said. "You promised Tante....."

"I don't care." Remy said defiantly. "I broke society's biggest rule tonight, one more little one isn't going to matter." He got up and took his coffee cup to the sink, dumping out the remains but not bothering to rinse it.

"Remy, I think you should...."

"You should go see your wife." Remy interrupted him. "Last I knew she was upstairs in her room crying."

With that he left the kitchen to go find his cigarettes; he was sure he still had a pack left in his trench coat. He knew he should have wiped the kitchen table before leaving, as Henri would never remember to do it, but for once he just couldn't find it in himself to care about Tante Mattie's ants.

O-o-o-o-O

It was after breakfast when Belle came to the house. Remy had sat at the table with Mercy and his father while Henri was upstairs asleep. He had picked at the _pain perdu_ his father had made since Tante Mattie was still with Theoren's family, but couldn't really get himself to eat. The only thing he had really eaten was a banana and some grapes, but only because Mercy had forced him to. Finally he had grabbed his pack of cigarettes and retreated to the back porch, ignoring his sister in law's dirty looks. This was where his fiancee found him, stretched out on the porch swing, a lit cigarette dangling between his fingers as he rocked the swing gently with his foot.

"Remy.." Belle said quietly from the doorway. He looked over at her, not surprised to see her; he knew she would be coming eventually.

"Hey." was all he muttered before turning back to watch a squirrel that had been creeping around the back yard for the last twenty minutes.

Belle stepped out of the house onto the porch. "Can I come sit down?"

"Yeah." Remy said, and sat up to give her some room, but didn't look at her.

Belle joined him on the swing and it creaked as she sat down. "I'm so sorry Remy." she said, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. It felt good to have someone hold him; no one had really touched him other than necessary since he came home earlier, unless one counted Theoren's fist.

"_Merci._" he whispered and closed his eyes, wondering why he wasn't crying. Wasn't he supposed to have been crying by now? He hadn't cried when he told his family what had happened, even though there had been tears in various peoples' eyes over the last few hours, but surely now that Belle was here he should be crying, shouldn't he? It was always how it worked out in the movies. Nothing though; his eyes were completely dry. He felt the tears though; they were tied up inside of him, caught up in a knot so tight in his heart that it hurt.

"We're taking good care of him, Remy." Belle said calmly, keeping her arms around him. "_Mon pere_ has his best people preparing him for burial tomorrow." She kissed his cheek and Remy caught the faint scent of her perfume, flowery and sweet. It was good to have her close, a moment of peace between their arguments and a reminder of why he was marrying her.

Finally Remy drew back and Belle let go of him, taking his free hand. If she noticed that he was smoking with his burned hand she didn't mention it.

"How bad was it?" he asked, not really wanting to know but at the same time not being able to stop himself from asking.

Belle squeezed his hand gently. "The entire back of his skull was smashed in. It had to have been quick; they didn't find any water in his lungs so he was dead before he landed in the river."

Remy closed his eyes and felt queasy again, remembering how soft the back of Etienne's head had felt as he held him in the water. He tried to take comfort that the boy hadn't drowned before Remy could get to him.

"What did Marius have to say about this?" he asked before taking a drag on his cigarette.

"He's sorry; we all are." Belle said, but Remy was sure that her brother wasn't included in that statement.

"And your brother?"

Belle frowned. "I'm sure you can guess what he had to say."

"I'm sure." Remy was positive that the only thing Julien would have to say upon hearing of the death of a Thief was '_good riddance'_.

"What a mess. I know this was Etienne's Tilling, his first job on his own, but it doesn't sound like it was very well put together. Didn't he notice the men were armed?" Belle asked, as calm as ever. "You should have had more backup."

Remy glared at her. How could she talk about his cousin like that right after his death? "Etienne did the best he could. It wasn't his fault that the Pig covered his tracks well and had a mole in the Customs office. Yes, he didn't notice the guns, but I did and I didn't tell him, so that was my fault. Besides, we didn't need a team; this was just a simple B&E at a shipping office. Two people should have been able to cover it."

Belle shook her head. "Maybe, but he should at least have gotten a layout of the office; that would have given him an idea of his surroundings once inside and saved him some time."

"They were waiting for us Belle...."

"Which is why he should have had more people, going into the unknown like that."

Remy grabbed his hand away from her. Etienne hadn't even been buried yet; why was she talking about this now?

"I don't see _you_ working with backup." he said defensively.

"That's because I know what I'm doing, and I make sure I have every job fully researched before going in." Belle said.

"It was his first time in charge. There were bound to be mistakes." Remy said.

"Yes, and this resulted in you having to blast your way out of there. I'd never heard of you causing such a big explosion before, Remy." Belle said. "Not even when your power first showed up."

"I held the charge for too long. If I had just thrown it farther away, if we had run faster...." Remy said. "This was my fault, not Etienne's. He did the best he could. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to talk badly of the dead?"

A faint, cynical smile crossed Belle's lips. "Of course not, death is our business. Regardless, it doesn't sound like he was ready to pass his test."

"Doesn't the fact that we were set up mean _anything_ to you?" Remy asked, getting annoyed with her callous attitude.

"Yes, it just means that neither of you had all of your possibilities covered."

"This was _not_ his fault." Remy said. "It's mine. I was supposed to watch out for him, I didn't tell him about the guns, I'm the one who blew up the dock. Why aren't you blaming me for this?"

Belle leaned back into the cushion of the swing. "Because ultimately he was in charge. Isn't that how it works?"

Remy nodded. "Yes. But he was just a kid......"

"Then why was he out there? If he was as ready as you say he was, then he was fully in charge and therefore responsible if things failed. If he wasn't ready, then you shouldn't have allowed him to test. But it sounds like maybe you think he wasn't ready, so maybe you're right; maybe it is your fault." Belle mused.

Remy looked away, not needing her to confirm the guilt he already felt. "I think you need to get out of here. This isn't exactly what I'd call comforting."

Belle got up from the swing. "I _am _sorry he's dead, Remy." she said before kissing the top of his head.

Remy sighed, still not looking at her. "I know you are." he said quietly. "I just can't talk about this right now."

Belle was silent for a moment. "Alright." she said at last. "I'll see you tomorrow at the funeral then."

Remy just nodded, then listened as she moved away from the swing and walked back into the house. He knew she didn't mean to be cruel; she just had a different outlook on death than he had, and didn't find anything wrong with criticizing someone a mere few hours after they were killed, even to go as far as implying that it was their own fault. He couldn't do that though, especially not right now, not when his cousin was at that moment being prepared for burial. He tried not to picture that, but he had watched too many episodes of CSI with Mercy and so it was only too easily to imagine what was happening. Of course it wasn't quite the same as what the mortician did, but the idea was still the same.

Remy finished his cigarette and lit another, watching paper catch fire from the spark from his finger and curl inward, lighting the tobacco. He was sure there was something he should be doing, but he couldn't think what it was. His father had left to help Etienne's father handle funeral arrangements and Emil had gone to see Theoren, leaving just him, Henri and Mercy at the house; the latter two were cleaning in preparation for the reception that would be held after the service tomorrow. Remy hadn't offered to help and they hadn't asked. Everyone was for the most part leaving him alone, and he was glad. Each person he saw just struck home the fact of Etienne's absence. He didn't know what he'd do tomorrow, having to face everyone at the funeral.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was Monday, Remy realized, knowing now what he should be doing. He should be calling Rogue. He'd have to pick her up tomorrow and he didn't want to bring her home to be surprised by a house in mourning. He needed to call and tell her today what had happened, so she would at least be prepared for what she'd have to deal with tomorrow. He wouldn't try to bring her to the funeral, he would just have her stay here at the house with Martine; she could just have her studies as normal.

He should call her. It was still morning though, and Remy decided to at least let her get through breakfast before upsetting her. Besides, he wasn't quite ready to talking to someone else yet, not after his little chat with Belle.

Remy was halfway through his cigarette when Mercy opened the back door.

"Remy, you have a phone call." she said quietly, and he could see the tiredness in her eyes.

"Who is it?" he asked, wondering who would be calling him right now.

"It's Rogue."

O-o-o-o-O

***BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP ***

An arm shot out from under the blanket and felt around before hitting a button on the alarm clock next to the bed. Silence graced the room once more and Rogue groaned and rolled over, annoyed with herself for forgetting that today was Sunday and setting the alarm last night by mistake. As much as she'd like to sleep in though, she still had a History paper to finish for Martine. That didn't mean she had to get up right away though.

Rogue rolled back over towards her nightstand and feeling around, found the remote control for her stereo and turned it on, switching it over from CD to radio. She'd lay in bed for awhile and listen to the radio while she decided whether she really wanted to get up or not. The news was being read when she turned it on and she listened, since she was required to keep up with current events even on the weekends. So far it was the usual. Wars, fires, deaths, the state government mutant registration law was still being debated by the Louisiana legislature, and it wasn't looking good. Rogue had a feeling that she may need to call Kurt soon. Her train of thought was soon derailed though.

"_An explosion rocked the harbor district early this morning, killing three people and wounding four. When police investigated they found a ship docked at that harbor carrying small children in cages, with more hidden in a warehouse next to it. It is believed that these children were intended to be sold to wealthy buyers both in and outside of the U.S. The identities of the dead not known, but they are believed to be under the employ of the man responsible for the taking of these children, a man sometimes called The Pig. One of these bodies was later stolen from the morgue. Police have few leads at this time, but mutant involvement is suspected."_

The anchorwoman continued, but Rogue was no longer listening. Etienne's Tilling was last night, and Remy had mentioned a job down at the harbor on Friday. Had it been them at that dock? Fear raced through her as she sat up in bed. Every resident's room had a phone, but Rogue rarely used hers as she preferred to call Kurt from Remy's house. She reached carefully for it now though, and dialed Remy's cell phone number, that being one of the numbers that he and Kurt made sure that she memorized, along with the LeBeau house phone and the number for the Xavier Institute. It went straight to voicemail though, and Rogue listened in annoyance.

"_Bonjour, this be Remy. Leave him a message and maybe he'll call you back."_

After deciding he liked the whole talking in third person business, Remy recorded his voice mail message that way. Rogue still thought it made him sound like an idiot.

"Alright schizo, I just heard a story about an explosion on the radio and that had better not have been you. If it was, you'd better be okay. Call me as soon as you get this."

Hanging up, she immediately picked up the phone again and dialed the house number. This time she got an actual person.

"Hello?" Mercy answered the phone, her voice sounding a little off.

"Hi Mercy, it's Rogue. I just heard something on the radio about an explosion at the harbor. Is Remy okay? I know he was going to be down there last night."

Mercy paused. "Remy's okay, but..."

"Oh thank god." Rogue sighed in relief. "Can I speak to him?"

"Hang on a minute. He's out back." Mercy said, and a couple of minutes later Remy came on the phone.

"Hey Rogue." he said, and his voice was strained. Something was definitely wrong.

"Remy, what happened last night? The woman on the radio said there was an explosion at the harbor, were you there? Are you okay?" Rogue asked in a rush.

"_Oui chere, _ I'm....I'm okay." Remy said. "The job went bad last night, we got caught. We escaped but they were chasing us, I made an explosion and got away, but Etienne.......Etienne's dead."

Rogue was silent for a moment, dazed from what she had just heard.

"I'm so sorry Remy." she said at last. "Tell me everything."

"No, not right now, not over the phone." Remy said, the stress in his voice making her heart ache. "We can talk tomorrow. The services will be held then, with a reception here at the house afterwards, but you don't have to go. You can stay with Martine."

"Okay." Rogue said. She was glad to not go. She had only been to one funeral, which had been Irene's over a year ago, and while that had only been a tiny affair with just her, Carla, the priest and the state social worker in attendance, she never wanted to go to another.

"Are you sure you're okay, Remy?" she asked.

"No. But I don't have a choice. I'm sorry Rogue, but I just can't talk right now. I'll see you tomorrow." he said, and hung up the phone before she could respond. It was a little rude, and normally she'd be annoyed with him but given the circumstances she decided she could forgive him.

Poor Etienne.

She hadn't known the boy that well, but he seemed nice, even if he had a habit of listening to Emil too much sometimes. Poor Emil, he must be devastated. The whole family must be. Rogue understood, having lost family herself. And just the death itself was bad enough, but to have something like this happen, just out of the blue. She'd have to have Remy explain what had happened to her tomorrow. As much as she hated it, there was nothing she could do for now, and not wanting to think, about Remy, Etienne, or anything else, even her paper, she crawled under the covers, rolled over and went back to sleep. Maybe she'd wake up and the whole thing wouldn't have happened. One could always hope, anyway.

O-o-o-o-O

I'm so mean sometimes.

Based on a comment Ishy made, I'm imagining a lot of people are wishing to hug the Cajun right now. Maybe I should sell tickets.


	30. Solace

AN: Folks, thanks to massive ticket sales, we are quickly reaching our goal of an exceedingly well-hugged Cajun!

_Applause in the background_

To "Too Lazy to Login": Cajun-hugging tickets cost one review.

O-o-o-o-O

It wasn't the terrorists that were going to bring about the end of the world, it was the bureaucrats.

Surely Dante had a special level in hell set aside for these wastes of time and oxygen, Forge thought to himself on Monday. He was sitting at one of the outdoor tables of a small café near the Garden District, having just finished yet another effort in futility at the hospital. After sleeping for about 12 hours, he had woken up on Saturday, showered, changed his clothes, and hoping he looked somewhat respectable, managed to find the hospital Destiny had mentioned in her first letter, St. Michael's. It was a large, modern-looking facility, and did not look cheap. Forge wasn't surprised; Irene had been able to afford it. It was too bad that with all her visions, she hadn't been able to see her own death. Or maybe she had? One could never tell with seers.

Inside he had found a very neat, clean environment and a pleasant staff. Unfortunately though, he was informed by the pleasant woman at the front desk that patient files were confidential (which he had expected), and that while Ms. Adler's foster daughter had not been a patient, information regarding her was considered to be connected to the patient. Therefore he would have to speak to the Director, who would be in on Monday. Forge wasn't surprised by this either; he had yet to meet a bureaucrat that worked weekends.

So for reasons of paranoia he had spent the weekend in and around his hotel, not wanting to go out too much in case for some ungodly reason he had managed to get followed. To his pleasure he found a Cajun restaurant that delivered, and Forge spent Saturday night eating crawfish and watching movies.

He had almost been ready to throw it all back up again on Sunday. The biggest story on the news was of an explosion down in the harbor, and the mention of possible mutant activity immediately had him thinking of Rogue. After the initial panic though, he managed to calm himself down. As far as he knew she had never touched another mutant, not even Irene, but it had been two years and a lot of things had changed, she could have come in contact with someone with such an ability. Then again he was probably being ridiculous; what would a seventeen and a half year old blind girl be doing down at the harbor in the middle of the night, blowing things up? Of course that wasn't the only possibility. Erik had kept telling him about the increase in violence against mutants, but it wasn't until he had escaped and started catching up on current events that Forge had really believed it. Anti-mutant groups that had been mere blips on the radar two years ago had since gained the power and money to become serious players on the political stage. And the increasingly anti-mutant environment in Louisiana was making the state a very friendly home for these people. And Rogue was somewhere in the middle of the most popular city in this state.

It was because of this knowledge that when he was told today by the same front desk assistant as Saturday that he couldn't see the Director until later this week that he wasn't quite as polite as he could have been. This hadn't gotten him very far though and so here he was a mile or so away, having gone for a walk until the smell of pastry overcame his nostrils and led him here to where he was now, getting powdered sugar on his shirt from the beignet that he was trying to eat neatly, and failing at completely. It was a beautiful day out, the weather wasn't too hot, and he could watch the people go by. Despite his worry and everything else, Forge couldn't help but appreciate being free and on his own again.

He wiped the last of the powdered sugar from his fingers and sat back, idly watching the traffic and the people that passed by his table, trying to decide what to do next. There was the option of trying to break into the hospital's files, but while he was good with computers, he was no hacker, and definitely wasn't a thief; he doubted he could get into the hospital to use their computers without getting caught.

Forge sipped his coffee and noticed a funeral procession go by, distracting him from his thoughts. It made him wonder what had happened after Irene's death, where she was buried. Was there an obituary published? Perhaps if there was some record of an obituary it might have information on who ordered it, and that person might have information about Rogue. He figured it couldn't hurt to at least look into it. He decided he'd go visit the office of The Times-Picayune after he finished his coffee. If that didn't get him anywhere then he'd go back to the hospital tomorrow morning, that woman at the front desk had to have a day off sometime. And if that didn't work he'd try something else; maybe the Department of Social Services. Rogue was still technically a minor until November. Forge didn't know anyone that would have come here to New Orleans with them other than probably Carla, and Irene hadn't mentioned anyone in her letters so it was a possibility that Social Services may have gotten involved after she died. If that was the case he could hopefully find where Rogue was through them. He would have to file for guardianship as Raven had designated Irene as Rogue's legal guardian in her will, and he doubted that he was mentioned in Irene's will. She had been rather thorough in setting up her deception; Forge wasn't even mentioned on Rogue's birth certificate as the father.

He couldn't help but feel another wave of anger towards Irene, and the mess he had allowed her to get him into. Sometimes Forge wondered if maybe at least a small part of what she had done was personal. They had never really been more than civil to each other, and while he and Raven had been together he had sometimes perceived a bit of resentment coming from her. He knew that she and Raven had been lovers before he met them, and the two women had maintained a very close relationship. To this day Forge didn't know if he had come between the two or not. If he had then it would help explain why Irene had been only too willing to keep him out of his own daughter's life.

Deciding that wondering about the past wasn't getting him any closer to Rogue, Forge checked to make sure he had cleaned up the last of the powdered sugar from his shirt before picking up his coffee cup to go back inside and ask where the Times-Picayune office was.

O-o-o-o-O

**Numb: **adjective:

deprived of physical sensation or the ability to move

manifesting or resembling numbness

incapable of action or of feeling emotion; enervated; prostrate

lacking or deficient in emotion or feeling; indifferent

O-o-o-o-O

"_Dear God, please take your child Etienne Marceaux into your keeping……."_

It was supposed to be raining.

Remy looked up to the sky while the priest began the funeral prayer. Why weren't funeral services ever held in the rain? It was completely unfair that such an unhappy occasion should be held on a beautiful sunny day. In the background he could make out the sound of birdsong past the voice of the priest, and it was completely wrong. It wasn't a beautiful day; an innocent boy was being buried, and it was anything but beautiful. Then again if it did rain for every funeral, no one would ever see the sun again. It still didn't seem right though, that Etienne's life should pass so unnoticed. Wasn't God supposed to notice everything? That was what the priests were always saying.

"_...Hold him in your everlasting arms and show him the light and mercy of your love..."_

The words became background noise as Remy brought his gaze back down and stared at the coffin in front of them. The box of rich wood only drove home the reality of what was going on. His cousin was in that box, all cleaned up, wearing a suit provided by his mother. She was on the other side of the grave, supported on either side by her husband and Theoren, looking lost and broken. She was a very sweet lady; Etienne had taken after her in looks and in some of her temperament. Just one more life that was wounded yesterday. So far neither she nor the rest of her family had spoken to him today.

Remy's immediate family stood around him, but he imagined a space between himself and them. Nobody had really spoken a word against him, but he couldn't help but think that they blamed him a little for what happened. He would understand perfectly if they did, since he blamed himself.

"_...and may you bring peace and comfort to his loved ones, dry their tears and ease their pain..."_

It was all some kind of bad dream, wasn't it? Remy longed for someone to wake him up and tell him that this wasn't real; that he wasn't standing at his cousin's grave. Etienne's father and Jean-Luc had decided that it would be a closed-coffin ceremony in order to spare his mother, who had only come out of her room this morning for the funeral. Remy was glad; he couldn't stand the thought of seeing Etienne this way. It was bad enough that he couldn't get the image of the boy's eyes out of his mind; how glassy and still they had become as he died. It just pulled the knot in Remy's heart tighter until it was the only thing he could feel through the thick fog he had been in since leaving his cousin's body at the dock. And he still hasn't been able to cry.

"_...and keep hope in their hearts for the day when all who have been parted shall be reunited. Dear Lord, we thank you for the gift of Etienne's life, and that you allowed us to have him as part of our lives. "_

Couldn't there just be some way to stop this, to turn back time and make it so it never happens? With all the magic in the world, all the powers developing in mutants every day, wasn't there someone out there who could part the veil of time and let him redeem himself?

"_Until that joyful day Lord, we live in hope of the glory we shall share together..."_

Remy dared not hope though, that a day would come when he could ask Etienne's forgiveness. He had been too good, and Remy...well, Remy had not.

"..._the glory of your power and grace."_

They would not share the same space again, in this world or the next.

"_Amen."_

O-o-o-o-O

When the service was over, Remy and his family were second in line to pay their respects to Etienne, and first in line to offer their condolences to the family. Theoren stood next to his parents, his arm around his mother's shoulders, but when Remy walked up he let go of her, and taking a step closer to Remy, spat in his face.

"_Murderer."_ Theoren hissed at him. "My brother loved you; he _trusted_ you, God only knows why. And you killed him! You killed him then left his body lying in the _garbage_."

The fury in his cousin's eyes made Remy take a step back.

"That's it Remy, back down; run away Remy, just like you ran away from my brother when he needed you." Theoren said scornfully. His father turned around from where he was talking to Jean-Luc and grabbing his son's arm, pulled him away from Remy.

"Stop it!" he commanded. Belize Marceaux was the Guild Harvest Master, answerable to only Jean-Luc himself, and not a man to be trifled with.

"You dishonor your brother, fighting at his grave like this. Take your mother and go home." Belize said in a voice that would brook no refusal.

Theoren backed off, then took one last look at Remy. "_Le Diable Blanc."_ he said in disgust. "Why don't you go and rot in the hell you came from, you murdering freak." Then he turned to his mother.

"_Maman_, let me take you home." he murmured, gently taking her arm. She let her son lead her back to the car.

Belize watched them walk away, then turned back to his nephew.

"She's barely said a word since it happened." he said quietly, and Remy averted his gaze, not able to stand the pain in the man's eyes.

"I don't hold you responsible for what happened, Remy." Belize said, and Remy looked back up at him in shock.

"You don't?" he asked cautiously.

Belize shook his head. "Theoren is young; he doesn't completely understand this life yet. I'm not sure if you really do either. I've been in the Guild for most of my adult life, and I've seen many people die. Some from our feud with the Assassins, others from jobs gone wrong. Your research can be perfect, you can have all kinds of backup plans, but something can still go wrong, and sometimes it just isn't anyones fault. You can't control every factor."

Remy shook his head. He knew his uncle made sense, but he still couldn't shake this guilt he carried.

"No, if I hadn't caused that explosion..."

Belize interrupted him. "I don't pretend to know anything about mutants, Remy, but I've seen you use your power during target practice with my boys, and I think I can compare it to using a gun. You were trapped; it doesn't sound like there was much else you could have done. Only you know what you can do with that power though; so what can you do to improve it? Think about it."

Remy nodded. His uncle was wrong; it was his fault, but he was right that Remy could practice more. With more practice in throwing to perfect his aim and judging how strongly he charged something, maybe he could prevent something like this from happening again.

"I'll think about it." he said finally. "I'm going to go home now."

Belize nodded, and turned back to where Jean-Luc was speaking to the other funeral-goers on his behalf.

Remy left the private cemetery where the LeBeau's had been laid to rest for centuries and headed back to the house. He had driven his motorcycle separately from the funeral procession because he hadn't wanted a long, uncomfortable ride with his family, and was glad now that he had. Everyone was speaking to each other a little more today but it was still awkward. Besides, Rogue was still at the house with her tutor and he wanted to see her before the house was invaded for the reception. He thought he may have been a little rude, but he still hadn't explained to her what had really happened, and he wanted her to hear it from him rather than from anyone else.

Only one or two of the guests had arrived when Remy made it back to the house. Tante Mattie had left the funeral a few minutes early to have everything prepared and was putting out iced tea and lemonade when he walked in. This was one of the few times that she had not cooked for an event in their house; Jean-Luc had arranged for the reception to be catered.

She called out to him as he passed by the kitchen. "Remy come help me put out glasses." Mattie said.

Remy stopped in the doorway. "I'm sorry Tante, but I need to talk to Rogue."

Tante Mattie nodded. "Alright."

Remy was a little surprised, he had thought that she might argue, as she usually didn't like being disagreed with. He decided not to press his luck though, and headed for the library. Rogue and Martine were going over something on the computer, and stopped what they were doing when he came in.

"Hello Remy." Martine said, sympathy in her eyes. "How was the service?"

What kind of question was that? Was he supposed to rate it, like he was at a play or something? Remy thought, but he respected the teacher too much to be rude.

"It was a funeral." he said. "I suppose it was nice; everything looked pretty." It was hard to really notice these things though when he was thinking more about why he was there.

Martine just nodded. "I'm going to leave early; neither of us have really been able to concentrate today." she got up and after collecting her materials, left the two alone.

Rogue didn't say anything, she just got up from the computer and made her way carefully to the small couch that sat along one wall of the library.

"How are you doing?" she asked. "I know, dumb question, but I don't know what else to say right now."

Remy joined her on the couch; it would fit maybe two and a half people if they weren't large, so while they weren't touching, they still sat somewhat close. Sitting down, he tipped his head back to rest against the cushion.

"I'm here. I'm breathing. I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing or not."

He saw her give a slow nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Been there, done that. Sometimes I still wonder about it." she said sadly. "Not so much anymore though. Can you talk about it yet?"

Remy sighed. He might as well get it over with.

"We were fucked the minute we got there Rogue." he said quietly. "The workers were armed. Etienne didn't notice but I did, and I'm still not sure if it would have made a difference or not if I had told him. They jumped him when he entered the office..." he continued, and told her about everything; he even included the parts he hadn't told his family, his fear while tied up in the warehouse, the feeling of Etienne's skull after it had been smashed against the hull of the ship, the things he couldn't bear the thought of his family knowing. And her expression didn't change; her empty eyes couldn't convey anything, but the rest of her was always so expressive; she hadn't learned how to guard from showing her emotions in her face. There was no blame there; no disappointment; just the sympathy she had shown since he picked her up this morning.

When he finished she sat silent for a moment.

"I understand." Rogue said at last. "When I was fifteen my powers showed up for the first time when my best friend Cody kissed me. It was my first kiss, and I put him in a coma. His family was so angry with me; he was still in a coma when Irene and I left Mississippi. The doctors weren't sure if he'd ever come out of it." she paused. "I know what's it like to hurt the people you love with your power. You don't want to do it, but it's part of you ; you can't always stop it and you're always afraid it will happen again. I'm so sorry Remy."

She understood. Out of all the people who expressed their sympathy, who told him that it would be okay and they knew how he felt it, Rogue was the only one who really did know. She didn't tell him it would be okay because she knew it wasn't true, but she understood, and it meant more than anything to him.

His silence must have worried her, because he felt her hand move tentatively up his arm and reaching his neck, she leaned over and hugged him carefully. It was the first time she had ever done that, and he sagged into Rogue's arms, letting his head rest against her shoulder. She didn't smell of perfume; if he buried his face in her hair he'd probably get a whiff of her shampoo and that would be all. He was tempted to do it, but he didn't want to spook her; she was going far enough out of her comfort zone as it was. It just felt so good to have her arms around him though; he wrapped his own around her waist and pulled her closer. He could feel her chest rise and fall against him. He'd hardly been touched since he came home yesterday; Mercy fixed his hand and various people had grabbed him, but no gentle hand to tell him someone cared. Belle had hugged him, but there had been little comfort in it, especially after the way she had spoken about Etienne. Rogue didn't say a word, but her trust in letting him so close to try and comfort him gave him what he needed, and feeling the knot inside him break, he buried his face in her shoulder and finally, he was able to cry.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy made no noise, but from the hitch in his breathing Rogue could tell that he was crying. His breath was warm against her neck, and he was so close that she dared not move her head or shoulders in fear of touching him. She hugged him a little tighter though, and stroked one hand gently down his back. She had needed this so badly when Irene died, but no one had dared touch her. He'd probably had someone hug him already; Tante Mattie seemed like the type who would comfort through touch, but Rogue just had to make sure.

"Oh god Rogue." he said quietly, and the pain in his voice made her want to cry. "I miss him. He wasn't supposed to die. Why'd he have to die?"

"I don't know, Remy." she whispered, and not knowing what else to say, rubbed his back gently. There wasn't a single thing she could tell him that would make things okay. And it hurt so badly; she wanted to make everything okay for him. This was making her finally admit to what she had been denying to herself for awhile now, that she loved Remy. And while she supposed that could be considered a good thing, it left her at a loss because she didn't know what to do next. This could cause so many problems. All she could do for the moment though, was to do what she was doing. Tomorrow would have to wait.

O-o-o-o-O


	31. Everything You Want

O-o-o-o-O

Remy had to leave Rogue alone for a little bit while he made a token appearance at the memorial reception. She knew he didn't want to be there though, as he had told her about Theoren and what had happened at the funeral. She was glad when he told her that his cousin had taken his mother home and so wouldn't be coming to the reception; Remy had enough stress right now and didn't need any more from Theoren. She supposed she could understand where he was coming from; Etienne was his brother and from what Remy said he had been very protective of the boy, but she wished he could understand that it was an accident.

While Remy was gone she stretched out on the couch and tried to read, but her mind was too preoccupied. The explosion at the harbor, Etienne's death and the Guild's various reactions to it, Remy's grief and her own honesty with herself concerning her feelings for him all fought for dominance in her mind. Out of the list Rogue found her own feelings to be the most disturbing of all. It wasn't Remy himself that was the problem; the man she had originally thought of as just a cocky swamp rat had turned out to be a considerate, playful young man who could be rather protective of her sometimes but at the same time wouldn't let her walk all over him. She liked that about him, as it was something that her previous companions hadn't been able to manage. Then again he wasn't just her companion though, not anymore. He was her best friend and one of the few people she trusted. Rogue had never bothered to tell him that, but she figured that he must have guessed by now. If he hadn't though, she wasn't about to tell him, especially not now when it would be too easy for him to guess how much more deeply her feelings went.

And that was the problem; she couldn't let Remy know how she felt. How could she? Remy was getting married next week; he'd be standing at the altar in that cathedral Kurt liked so much while Belladonna Boudreaux walked down the aisle to him in some frilly white dress. And from Remy's memories of his fiancee Rogue knew that she would be beautiful; that woman could wear a paper sack and still be beautiful. She'd come up to him, her hands full of beautiful, fragrant flowers, and Rogue would have to listen to them vow to love, honor and cherish each other until death. It didn't help that she wouldn't have to see them kiss or didn't even know what Remy looked like to be able to imagine it; she would know that it was happening and that would be enough. It wasn't like she could back out of it either, since she had promised Remy she would be there. She'd have to sit there next to Mercy and listen to it all, listen to Remy vow to love another, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. This marriage had been in the making for a long time; it would end a feud that had probably lasted longer than the Hatfield's and McCoy's. And Remy loved Belle. Given that, it would be useless and humiliating for her to say a word. Remy would just feel sorry for her, and while she hated anyone pitying her, having it come from him would be the worst of all.

But it wasn't just the wedding; it would be every day afterwards. Remy would come and spend the day with her, and then go home to the mushroom every night. Or she would go to the LeBeau house and have to put up with Belle's presence five days out of the week; and it would most likely just be five days out of the week, as Belle seemed to be jealous enough of Rogue being in Remy's life as it was that she wouldn't put up with her hanging out with the family on the weekends as well. What else could she do though? November was still months away, and while Rogue still wanted time with Remy before she left she didn't know if she could stand being with him almost every day knowing he had a wife waiting for him at home. It would just hurt too much. She didn't _have_ to stay though; from what Kurt said it sounded like Professor Xavier had the clout to get her out of Louisiana before she turned eighteen, and she could accept his offer of a home any time she wanted. She had only stayed so far mainly because of Remy. But she knew it was going to break her heart to stay after Remy married, so maybe she was better off leaving. Kurt would be overjoyed, and the Professor would expedite things as much as possible. She could bury herself in school, family, new friends, a new life, and things would be okay. She'd only known Remy for a couple of months; she could get over this.

Rogue had a feeling she was probably fooling herself. Who else could look out for her like he did without making her feel like she was being treated like a child? Who else could put up with her temper, or even more amazingly, not care about her mutation? Not too many. Staying here wasn't going to do her any good; it wasn't like he was going to dump Belle in November and go to New York with her. Whether it was now or after her birthday she'd be leaving alone.

_So what am I waiting for? _Rogue thought to herself. _Nothing._

With a sigh she laid the book down on her chest and hugged it to herself. It was clear to her, there was no point in staying here and torturing herself, there was really only one thing to do. She wouldn't tell Remy now; she'd wait until things had settled down a little from this whole mess, but when she got back to the home tonight she would call Professor Xavier and ask him to get her out of here.

O-o-o-o-O

Forge parked his rented car and approached the cemetery, wondering again why he was doing this. The people at the Times-Picayune office had been unable to help him; there had been no obituary published for Irene Adler, which after thinking about it Forge decided made sense. A woman on the run from a powerful, severely pissed-off mutant would not want to make her presence known to anyone, even after her death. He should have realized that to begin with.

One of the women at the newspaper office had taken pity on him though and suggested accessing one of the online gravesite locaters, mistakenly thinking that Forge wanted to pay his respects. It wouldn't really help him with what he needed, but out of what he decided must be morbid curiosity he'd decided to go to the public library. Which is how he found himself here, at the entrance of the cemetery that according to the burial records, held Destiny's remains. Apparently she hadn't been able to prevent all possible mention of her whereabouts. Perversely that gave him a tiny bit of satisfaction, to have her not get her way completely. He knew it was childish, but he couldn't help it.

And so he wandered the cemetery, heading to the area where the more recent graves would be found. He found it near a fence at one side of the cemetery, a simple grave with her name and date of death carved on it. Raven had a similar grave in Mississippi; neither tomb having a date of birth listed. He honestly didn't know how old either woman had been, but he suspected it was far older than they looked. He wondered how Erik would feel once he found out Destiny was dead. Forge knew there had been a lot of bad blood between the two of them because of Rogue and during his captivity Erik had implied that Irene had a rather unpleasant fate awaiting her once she and Rogue were found. All things considered, she was probably lucky that the cancer had gotten her first.

Forge stood at Irene's grave for awhile, trying to decide how he felt about her death. During the time when he had read her letters and all along the trip to New Orleans he had been too caught up in his escape from Erik and his panic over Rogue that he hadn't really allowed himself time to think about it. But now that he was here and physically in front of the proof of her death he almost had no choice. So how did he feel? He had known Irene for about twenty years now; she had been at Raven's side at her death while he had been at war and had taken care of his daughter ever since. She had done a good job of it too; Rogue was a smart, beautiful girl and he was proud of her despite having had nothing to do with how she turned out. But she had also manipulated him at the most vulnerable point of his life and he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive her, even if it turns out in the long run that she may have been right to do so. But in the end it didn't really matter whether he forgave her or not; she was dead and he was left having to pick up the pieces, which apparently had been what she was counting on based on her letters.

It was useless standing here though, and Forge decided it was time to get out of there. He looked at the grave one last time before leaving, and gave a tiny shake of his head.

"I hope you're satisfied." he muttered, and closed his eyes briefly before turning around to leave the cemetery. His next stop was the Social Services office, but it was after business hours and he'd have to wait for tomorrow. Hopefully he'd have better luck there.

O-o-o-o-O

It was later in the day when Belle came over. The last guest had been gone for about half an hour, and while Remy had wanted to go back to Rogue, Tante Mattie had insisted that he help clean up. So when the doorbell rang he was sweeping out the foyer. Normally he'd feel self-conscious about answering the door with a broom in his hand, out of fear for his image, but right now he didn't give a damn.

"Hi." Belle said when Remy opened the door. "I saw the cars were gone so I thought it would be okay to come over."

Belle was originally supposed to go to the funeral in her role as Remy's fiancee, but she had apparently changed her mind. Remy thought he could understand why. Even though Remy and Belle's upcoming marriage was designed to unite the Guilds and end the generations-old feud, Belle was still an Assassin and it had felt awkward to the Thieves to invite their enemy to such a private affair. He had a feeling she had felt the awkwardness too, and to be perfectly honest he was glad she had stayed away. The funeral had been bad enough without her there to make things worse.

"Sure. Come on in." Remy said. It had been a long, painful day, and while he wanted nothing more than to sleep right now he had to get Rogue back to the home soon. He also didn't want any more tension with Belle, not with the wedding next week. Actually it was good that she was here as he needed to talk to her about that. He just hoped she wouldn't get too upset.

"Let's go sit in the living room." Remy said.

"Why don't we go to the library?" Belle asked as she followed him down the hall.

Remy noticed that he still had the broom in one hand and stopped to stash it in the hall closet. Opening the front door holding a broom was one thing; walking around the house with it was another.

"Rogue's in there." he said reluctantly, having hoped that he could keep the two apart today.

"What is she doing here?" Belle asked, and while she didn't sound angry, she didn't exactly sound happy either. "Did she go to the funeral?"

Remy shook his head. "I had to bring her over so I could still go to the funeral and not violate my probation agreement. She stayed here."

Belle just bit her lip and nodded as they entered the living room. Remy sat down on the couch and when Belle took the spot next to him he took her hand, curling it up in his on his leg.

"How did everything go?" She asked, relaxing against him.

Remy frowned. "Why does everybody ask that? It's a funeral. Someone who had died got buried. The people there were upset that it happened. How do people think it's supposed to go?" he asked in annoyance. He was getting really sick of that question.

"You want to know how it went? Theoren tried to attack me after the funeral and was only stopped by my uncle, who for some damn reason doesn't hold me responsible even though he should; my aunt has fallen to pieces, and while the rest of my family is speaking to me I can't figure out if they blame me or not."

_And the one person I was able to let go and cry with afterwards wasn't you, the woman I've pledged myself to. _

Belle took her hand away from his. "I'm sorry for asking." she replied, a look of hurt on her face.

Remy sighed. Despite her insensitivity yesterday, he really shouldn't be taking this out on her.

"_Je suis desole, chere_." he said. "I didn't mean it to come out like that. It's just been a long day."

He felt more than saw Belle relax, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"It's okay Remy, I understand." she said in a more sympathetic voice.

Remy just took her hand and squeezed it gently before speaking again.

"Thank you." he said gratefully, and hoped she would continue to understand. "Belle, I know everything's set and all, but with what's happened I think we should postpone the wedding."

His fiancee stared at him in disbelief. "Postpone the wedding?" she asked, and while she didn't raise her voice her displeasure was obvious in her tone. "Remy, I don't think you understand what goes into planning these things. The cathedral we have reserved usually books at least a year in advance. I was lucky that _mon pere_ was able to get it so quickly for us."

Remy squeezed her hand again. "It wouldn't be long _chere_, just maybe a month or so. Belle, my cousin's dead; my family's in mourning. You can't ask me to get married at a time like this."

Belle squeezed his hand back, but not as nicely as he had, and while she wasn't as strong as Remy, her grip still hurt.

"We've been planning this for a long time now Remy.." she began tightly.

"You just set the date not that long ago." Remy broke in.

"Are you sure you're not getting cold feet?" Belle asked, her eyes narrowing on him. "You haven't seemed as eager to marry me as you used to be. You hardly have time to see me anymore, not with your little blind mouse around."

"What are you talking about?" Remy asked, though he had really hoped that she wouldn't go there. "She's my community service assignment and my friend. My family likes her."

"Oh yes, you two are such friends." Belle said. "My brother saw you at the dance hall last weekend; you were dancing so close there was hardly a bit of space between you. When I call you're usually either with her or planning to go see her. And even if I'm here you have your eyes more on her than on me, your own fiancee. Yes, you really are such good friends." she finished sarcastically.

Remy swallowed. Not her too. Henri, Mercy, now even his fiancee. Why did everyone think he and Rogue were falling for each other? It was too much of an impossibility. They were friends. He had commitments. She was leaving. Even if he wanted... Remy stopped that thought.

"You're being ridiculous Belle." he said at last, and leaned in to kiss her. But while her mouth was as soft and sweet under his as ever, when he held her the scent of her perfume touched him again and this time it didn't feel right. There should be no perfume, just the clean scent of freshly washed hair, freshly washed auburn hair, and if he opened his eyes he should see the strands of white mixed in...

No no no, that was definitely wrong. He shouldn't be thinking of someone else while holding the girl he was going to marry in his arms. But at the same time it felt wrong to be holding Belle. Was everyone right?

Not liking his train of thought, he pulled away from Belle and sat back against the couch. "So what was Julien doing at the dance hall; spying on me again?" he asked.

Belle shrugged and straightened her hair. "He wasn't spying on you. He had a date."

_Sure he did. That can't have been his idea. _Remy thought to himself. Julien rarely dated, and the fact that Remy thought he knew why disgusted him. He could never tell Belle though.

"Right. And it just so happened that out of all the dance halls in New Orleans, he just happened to bring his date to the one where I was with my friends." So far it hadn't been mentioned to anyone outside of the family that Rogue had a brother.

"So? It's a small world." Belle said.

"Right. I just love how you trust me, _chere_." Remy said sarcastically.

"And how am I supposed to trust you when I hear reports of you dancing like a lover with another woman?"

Remy clenched his teeth, trying not to get angry. "Rogue and I are only friends. I made a promise to you Belle, and I intend to keep it. I'm not asking to stop the wedding completely, just delay it a little."

Belle looked at him for a moment, as if she were studying his face. "No Remy, we go ahead as planned. And if you ask me again I will tell _mon pere_ that you have cold feet and are trying to stop the wedding."

With that she got up from the couch. "I'll talk to you later." she said, and didn't even try to kiss or hug him before leaving the room. A minute or two later he heard the front door all but slam shut.

Tante Mattie nearly stomped out of the kitchen, meeting up with Remy just before he reached the library.

"That was Belle, wasn't it?" she asked. "I recognize that slam; she knows better than that though. What did you say to her to set her off like that?"

Remy cringed. Just what he needed, one more person to be mad at him today. "I asked Belle to postpone the wedding. I thought it was too soon after the funeral."

Mattie nodded. "I agree; a family should have a time of mourning. I take it she didn't feel the same?"

Remy shook his head. "No. She thinks I have cold feet."

Mattie looked at him shrewdly. "Well, do you?"

"No. I made her a promise. I made everyone a promise, and I won't break it." Remy said, getting really tired of people doubting him.

"That's not what I asked."

Remy stepped away from her. "I have to go, Tante. It's time to take Rogue back."

Thankfully Tante Mattie let him go, and he went into the library, where he found Rogue lying on the sofa, a book hugged to her chest.

"I heard the front door slam. Was that Belle?" she asked when Remy was halfway across the room.

Remy waited until he had reached the couch before answering. "Yeah, she didn't like the fact that I wanted to postpone the wedding. Move your feet, _petite_, I want to sit down."

Rogue sat up and got her feet out of the way. "So um, why do you want to postpone the wedding?"

Once the space was cleared Remy sat down. "I just think it's too soon after....after everything. I haven't talk to Papa yet but Tante Mattie agrees with me. Belle doesn't though. She thinks I'm trying to stop the wedding completely."

"Of course not. You wouldn't do that." Rogue said.

Remy was glad that there was finally someone who didn't think he had cold feet.

"No, I just want to wait another month or so. It's no good though. Belle said no. She thinks I have cold feet. I told her she was being ridiculous."

Rogue gave a slight nod. "Of course."

Remy thought she sounded a little odd. He knew she didn't like Belle, and vice versa, but she had never really said anything against him marrying; she knew the reasons why after all. Would she be happy for him though when he got married, or would she be sad? Given all the speculation he received from his family about his feelings for Rogue, he had to wonder how she felt about him. Remy knew she cared about him; this afternoon had proved it, but was it just as a friend or was it more? Despite his commitments, despite the fact that he shouldn't requite any such feelings, the idea that Rogue could possibly care about him as more than a friend made him absurdly happy.

"Come on. It's getting late; I should take you back." he said, and got up from the sofa.

Rogue carefully placed the book on the table next to the sofa, and got up, taking her cane from where it leaned against the arm of the seat.

"Do you want to take that book with you?" Remy asked.

"No. I have to pick a story out of the news tonight and write an essay about it for homework." Rogue said.

Since it was a nice afternoon Remy decided to take the bike back, and decided that feeling Rogue wrapped around him from behind was a nice bonus. He really needed to stop feeling like this, he was going to be married next week, his heart belonged to someone else...well, it did, didn't it? Suddenly he wasn't so sure that it did, or at least not completely. Remy knew that he still loved Belle; she was the first girl he had actually loved and despite everything that love was still there, but it seemed to be squeezing into a smaller space. Thoughts of Rogue kept creeping in; her smile, the sound of her laughter, how beautiful she had looked by the pool, having her close in his arms as they danced, her warmth and understanding as he cried...

_Oh hell, who am I kidding?_ Remy thought to himself in disgust. _Apparently no one._

He was so screwed. What was that saying about not being able to serve two masters? Supposedly one couldn't be in love with two people, but Remy couldn't help it; he cared about them both. Sure, Belle was being a brat, but part of that was jealousy over Rogue. She could be so sweet when she wanted to be, his mischievous girl. She and Rogue were a bit alike in that regard.

_Argh._

Okay, so he cared about them both. Did it really make a difference? Ultimately it did not. He was getting married next week. Even if he wasn't, if he did what Belle accused him of trying to do and called off the wedding, there was still the fact that Rogue was leaving. She had family and a new life waiting for her in New York. No matter how much he would like to, Remy couldn't ask her to give that up. At the same time he loved his own family and could never imagine living anywhere except New Orleans. So no, this would change nothing. He'd patch things up with Belle, they'd get married, and he would enjoy what time he had left with Rogue until her birthday in November. And he'd never breathe a word of his epiphany.

When they got to the home Remy walked with her back to her room.

"Why don't we go out for breakfast tomorrow?" he asked once they got to her door.

"I don't know." Rogue said, pretending to sound doubtful. "It's French toast on Tuesdays, and Sarah makes a mean French toast."

"I'll take you to that place we biked to when Kurt and Ororo were here." Remy wheedled. "They make chocolate chip Belgian waffles with whipped cream."

"That sounds good. But what about Martine? You know how she is about punctuality." Rogue said, and she actually did sound doubtful this time.

"It's okay. I'll call and tell her to come a little later. Please Rogue? I just want to be out of the house for a little while. It's awkward at home. Everyone else is talking to me, but Emil still seems upset. And Tante Mattie's on a cleaning frenzy. She had me sweeping while you were in the library. Please?" Remy asked again.

"Okay Remy." Rogue said, and he could tell she was trying not to smile. "I'll eat chocolate chip Belgian waffles if I must."

"Excellent." Remy said and squeezed her hand before letting go. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya." Rogue said, and Remy left the building feeling better than he had all day.

O-o-o-o-O

Once in her room, Rogue sat on the bed and leaned her cane against the wall. She tried not to think about Remy's happiness at her agreeing to go out to breakfast tomorrow, or her unhappiness during their conversation about his wedding. Fighting the urge to tell him not to marry the mushroom had left a bad taste in her mouth. It had taken everything she had not to tell him that it was a mistake and to stop the wedding. But she knew why he had to go through with it, and she hoped that he could find some happiness in it. She cared about him enough that she wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with her.

Laying on the bed, she turned on the radio and listened as the announcer spoke of salmonella in peanut butter, political corruption, international disaster, and the impending vote in the Louisiana legislature regarding mutant registration, which was gaining more and more support. Afterwards she wrote an essay about the mutant registration story using a Braille typewriter Martine had found for her.

Dinner was the same as usual, she sat in her usual corner and tried not to think about the things she shouldn't be thinking about, ignoring Candace when she mentioned her pleasure in hopefully seeing the registration act become law. And hateful as the woman was, she was probably right. There had been very little opposition to the law so far, in fact the recent rally that the Friends of Humanity had held in front of the legislature a few days ago had gathered a very large crowd of supporters. And that just gave what she was about to do some validation.

Rogue returned to her room after dinner and took her shoes off before getting comfortable on her bed. Then she picked up the phone and dialed the number she had dialed many times before.

"Good evening, Xavier Institute. How can I help you?" a young woman's voice answered politely.

"Hi, can I speak to Kurt please?" Rogue replied. She wasn't sure who this was; usually the phone was answered by either Kurt, Ororo, or Doctor McCoy, who she had talked to occasionally about her mutation and found to be a very nice man. She looked forward to meeting him when she moved up there.

"Um, sure. So who's this?" the girl asked.

"Tell him it's Rogue." she said.

"Okay. I'll like, get him right now." the girl said. Apparently she had put the phone down because she sounded further away before she called for him.

"MR. WAGNER! PHONE CALL!!" the girl yelled.

Rogue heard a faint sound a moment later and figured that her brother had teleported.

"Who is it, Kitty?" he asked, and Rogue realized that this was the girl that he had complained about every so often as having a crush on him.

"She said her name was Rogue." Kitty replied. "So who is she?" she asked curiously.

"My sister. Don't you have homework to do?" he asked.

"Yeah. It shouldn't take too long though. Do you wanna like watch a movie when I'm done?" Kitty asked hopefully, and Rogue felt a little sorry for her.

"Sorry, but I'm going out with Ororo. Maybe some other time." Kurt said, his voice sounding closer now.

"Hello _lieb_." Kurt said into the phone. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." Rogue said. "I've got some bad news though."

"About Remy's cousin?" her brother asked. "I know. Jean-Luc called Ororo this afternoon. I'm so sorry. Please give Remy my condolences."

"Thanks." Rogue said.

"So how is he holding up? How are you holding up?"

"Remy's upset, but I think he'll be okay eventually. I'm okay. Emil's really upset though, and Etienne's brother Theoren is a mess. Apparently he tried to fight with Remy at the funeral today."

"Ouch. I'm sorry. I hope everyone will be okay." Kurt said.

"Thanks. I need to talk to you about something else though, and to Professor Xavier." Rogue said, and drew a breath before going ahead. "They're voting on the mutant registration law next week, and it's looking like it's going to pass, there's been almost no opposition. I think we need to ask the Professor to go ahead and file the petition to transfer guardianship so I can leave Louisiana. It's getting too dangerous to be here."

Kurt sighed. "That vote makes me really nervous, but at the same time I'll be glad to have you up here earlier than planned. Let me get the Professor on the phone."

Rogue waited while he transferred the call, and Professor Xavier picked up a minute or two later.

"Hello Rogue." he said. "Kurt's told me what happened. I think I agree with both of you that it's time to bring you here to the Institute. I still have the information you gave me about yourself and where you are, and I'll file the petition tomorrow morning. There's no guarantee how long this will take, or whether your status as a mutant will complicate things, but the sooner we get this started the better. In the meantime we will keep an eye on how things go with the Louisiana legislature, and I want you to stay with the LeBeau's as much as possible; if things go badly I think you'll have a safe haven with them. And if you can't get to them, call us. There are things we won't talk about right now, but we are in a position to help you Rogue, no matter what happens."

Rogue was definitely curious, but she decided not to question him right now. "Alright Professor, thank you so much for your help."

"You're very welcome. Goodnight, and try not to worry."

"Okay. Goodnight." she replied, and hung up the phone. She felt a bit better now that she had spoken to Professor Xavier and gotten things started, but part of the worry still remained. The upcoming law was targeted at mutants in state custody and had just recently been expanded to include state employees. As a ward of the state she was subject to this law and it was already noted in her file that she was a mutant. Also Candace had reported it to her superiors that time she had blown a hole in the cafeteria wall the first day she met Remy. Depending on what happened after the law passed, things did not look for her. What would be done with the names that would be collected? Would they just be kept on file as the government said, or would other things happen? Rogue really didn't want to think about it, but the possibilities kept her awake a good portion of the night.

O-o-o-o-O

When Remy came downstairs the next morning he found Emil making coffee and Henri at the stove cooking sausage.

"Mercy's going to skin you alive when she catches you eating that." Remy commented. Mercy continued to drag the rest of the family along on her quest to eat healthier, which meant things like sausage were considered to be contraband.

Henri shrugged. "She won't know, she's still asleep."

Despite the banter, the mood in the kitchen was rather subdued, and Emil didn't say a word to either one of them; he just poured the coffee when it was finished and made some toast. Remy glanced at his cousin, not sure what to say. The younger man hadn't come right out and said it, but Remy suspected that he blamed him for their cousin's death. Remy couldn't deny it, despite his uncle's words he still felt that it was his fault, but at the same time he didn't want Emil to hate him.

"Emil..." he finally started to say, once they were all sitting at the table, Remy with just a cup of coffee.

"Don't." his cousin said in a tight voice. "I know it was an accident and that I shouldn't blame you, I _know_ that, but I'm still angry. I can't help it. Etienne was my best friend. Just leave me alone, okay?"

"Aren't you eating, Remy?" Henri, apparently deciding to break up the situation before it got too tense by ignoring it.

"No, I'm taking Rogue out to breakfast." Remy said.

Henri shook his head. "Keep that up and Belle's likely to kill you on your wedding night." he said, but there was no playfulness in his tone.

"Don't start with me." Remy said in annoyance. "There is _nothing_ going on. The wedding is going on as planned."

"Still? Even after all this?" Henri asked in surprise. "You'd think she'd want to wait and give us a little time."

Remy shook his head. "You'd think so, but I asked her yesterday and she said no. Apparently she agrees with you." he said, still annoyed.

"I don't like this." Henri said, and quickly took another bite of his sausage. Remy figured he wanted to finish it before his wife woke up.

"Do you want things to go back to how they were before the engagement?" Remy asked. "The family needs this." he said, not bothering to mentioning that the Guild needed it, because the family was the heart of the Guild.

"No." his brother said, "But it's not worth throwing away your life for peace. Tell Papa you don't want this, he'll stop the wedding."

As much as Remy wanted to believe that, he couldn't help but disagree. He knew his father loved him, but Jean-Luc had much more at stake here than just his son, and couldn't allow a possible peace to be destroyed.

"I'm getting out of here." he said, getting up from the table. Henri gave him a disgusted look, but didn't say anything.

Throughout this, Emil just stayed quiet.

O-o-o-o-O

As promised, the little cafe they had gone to previously had chocolate chip Belgian waffles with whipped cream, and Remy watched with amusement as Rogue happily ate them. She said they were definitely better than Sarah's French toast, and made Remy promise under pain of death not to tell the head cook that she had said that. Remy promised, but was glad that Rogue couldn't see him cross his fingers behind his back. It would make excellent blackmail material.

Remy was trying to delay going home as much as possible, so they lingered over coffee and talked. She seemed worried about something, and when he asked her about it she told him about the news report concerning the mutant registration act.

"That's not so good, _chere_." he said, now feeling worried himself. There were just too many opportunities for government mischief if they had that information. Again he wondered if maybe he should suggest that she leave New Orleans early, but even while knowing it was selfish, he continued wanting her to stay as long as possible.

"I know." Rogue sighed, and Remy noticed that she didn't suggest her leaving New Orleans either. That pleased him.

"It's okay though. If anything happens we'll protect you." Remy said.

This made Rogue smile a little. "Thanks Remy."

Eventually though he conceded to the fact that they needed to leave. He had forgotten to call Martine before he left home, and his cell phone was sitting on his dresser. He was going to catch an earful when they got home.

On the way out Rogue was smiling about something he said when he opened the door and nearly collided with a man about to walk in. He was about the same height as Remy, with a bit stockier build, and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked to be in his mid to late forties and his features told Remy that he was Native American. Instead of moving out of the way he just stopped with a strange expression on his face, and Remy realized that he was staring at Rogue. Of course she was completely unaware of this, but the smile left her face.

"Remy, why have we stopped?" she asked curiously.

"It's okay _chere_, I just bumped into someone." Remy said, but gripped her hand a little more firmly.

The man just stood there, seeming to not have heard him, and continued to stare at Rogue. It had to be impossible, but the look on his face seemed to be almost a mixture of shock, amazement and _recognition_.

"Is there a problem _homme_?" Remy asked warningly, not liking this at all.

The older man swallowed. "No." he said quietly, and moved back, but he never took his eyes off of Rogue.

"What's going on Remy?" Rogue demanded.

"Nothing. Let's go." he tersely, and led her past the man. He quickly got her on the bike, wondering what the hell was going on. He wanted to stop and talk to the man, but Rogue was with him and he didn't want to get her involved in whatever this was. He knew the owner of the cafe though, and hopefully he could find out some information about this man later, when he could track him down and talk to him alone.

Finally they drove out of the parking lot, and Remy looked back to see the man still standing by the door staring at them, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

O-o-o-o-O


	32. Hide and Seek

AN: Honestly, I really don't own the X-Men. I also apologize for the liberties that I'm taking with New Orleans geography.

O-o-o-o-O

He was an idiot.

That was the first thing that went through Forge's mind as he saw the bike drive away.

_Hurry up, she's getting away! _Was the second.

The third was: _When did she get so beautiful?_

He broke his paralysis and ran to his car, hoping to catch them before they got too far away. From the wary look the young man had given him though, he was sure to be putting on some speed the minute they got around the corner.

Why on earth hadn't he said something? She had been standing right there in plain sight. She didn't look unhappy or underfed or any of those things he had always heard about in the horror stories concerning orphans and foster systems; in fact she looked wonderful, she had been smiling when she came out, and so grown up. But that was to be expected, considering that the last time he had seen her was when she was thirteen. He had brought her the adamantium cane, and while he hadn't stayed long and only spoke to her long enough to greet her, she was already into puberty and he had caught a glimpse in the girl of the young woman that she was now. He had received pictures since then of course, but it was never the same as seeing someone in person.

So what was he supposed to say? _"Yeah, there is a problem, that's my daughter you have there"?_ Sheesh. There had to be a manual for handling this kind of thing.

What had happened? Had Irene gotten desperate after receiving no word from him and finally reached out to someone for help? If that was the case then he had even more reason to be angry with her because she should have just contacted Charles instead of leaving Rogue to strangers here in New Orleans. At least there she would have been with her brother instead of down here with whoever that guy was. Remy, she had called him. Obviously another mutant, Forge recalled, thinking of those eyes. It was like staring into hellfire. What was he doing with her anyway? This Remy guy seemed very protective of her, with the way he kept hold of her hand and the glare he had given him. It made Forge very wary; he had no idea who this guy was or what he was doing with his daughter. She was a complete innocent, and Forge didn't think that word was even in this guy's vocabulary. It set off every alarm bell inside of him.

_Is this that overprotective father thing everyone keeps talking about?_ Forge thought to himself as he started the car up quickly. _I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. _Traditionally this was when the overprotective father was supposed to either pull out the shotgun or threaten the young man in question with one. He felt a bit of malicious satisfaction as he had a feeling that this guy wouldn't like the weapons that Forge could pull on him.

He pulled out of the parking lot and took off in the direction they had taken. When he stopped at a light he could see the bike several cars ahead of him. The guy turned around to glance behind him, and even though he had a helmet on Forge just knew that this Remy guy was staring at him. When the light turned green the bike just sat there with its left turn signal on, not moving. Even when people began to honk and one or two drove around him it stayed there. Forge began to curse to himself because he knew what the guy was doing, and sure enough, the light turned yellow and just before it changed to red the bike took off and turned to the left.

Forge was still several cars back and traffic was already towards him in the other lane so he couldn't pull out and take after him. Once the light changed again he made the turn as quickly as he could and found himself in the quiet, well-to-do neighborhood of the Garden District. Old, beautiful houses flanked him on either side; he could hear the occasional shouts of children playing, and an old man passed him walking a dog. He drove slowly down the street, and while he saw many different makes and models of cars, there were no motorcycles. The street was long, but there were all kinds of side streets; they could have turned off on one of those, or they could be parked at one of the several houses that had garages. He'd continue down this street, but more than likely they were long gone.

"DAMNIT!" he shouted, and slammed his fist down onto the console; the strength in his robotic hand causing him to make a large dent in the heavy plastic. He'd been so close; she had been right there in front of him. Forge couldn't think of anything that he could have done though that wouldn't have just scared her and freaked out her somewhat demonic-looking friend.

He continued down the street, looking everywhere for that bike, but found nothing. He then turned off on some of the side streets, circling around for a block or so before returning to the street he had originally turned on to. He had a feeling that they were still in that region, but this was an old, moneyed neighborhood; it wasn't as if he could just go knocking door to door, as tempting as the thought was. No, he finally decided. Searching here was getting him nowhere. He needed to go back to that café. Maybe somebody there knew them, and could tell him something about where Rogue was, or at least who that guy with her was. If that failed he could still go to the Social Services office. He still wasn't sure what had happened, but he didn't really think that Destiny would intentionally have left Rogue in the care of strangers when she could have sent the girl north to be with her brother. Rogue must have ended up alone when Irene died, which meant that the state would have gotten involved.

After taking one more swing around the block, Forge turned his car around and headed back to the cafe, hoping that maybe this time something would go his way.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy took Rogue's helmet from her after they parked in the garage and handed over her cane, then stashed both helmets away in the bike's compartment. He was glad now that he , Henri and Emil had listened the last time Tante Mattie told them to clean the garage; otherwise he wouldn't have had room to park the bike. He'd had a feeling that the man back at the cafe would follow them, and he had been right; Remy had caught sight of the man when they had stopped at the light. Thankfully they had been able to lose him, but he didn't want whoever this guy was to catch up with them; not until Remy had a chance to find out who he was and what he wanted with Rogue. The way the man had looked at her...there hadn't been anything perverted or evil in it, but it still gave Remy the creeps. He swore that the man looked like he knew Rogue, and had been as surprised as hell to see her. But he couldn't know Rogue, could he? As far as Remy knew, hardly anyone outside of Caldecott, Mississippi knew Rogue even existed. Was this someone from her hometown? And if so, was this sudden meeting a good thing or a bad thing? From what Rogue had told him, he doubted that her old neighbors would be happy to run into someone who had put one of the local boys in a coma. The man hadn't looked angry though; he had just continued to look shocked. Remy didn't know what to make of it. He knew he had to find out who this guy was; he didn't know if it was someone who would have reason to be angry with her, or just an old family friend. He hoped for the latter; it would be nice for her to have old friends back in her life. Just in case though, he decided he would feel more comfortable finding out about this guy on his own; he didn't want to worry Rogue if it turned out to be somebody she didn't want to see again, so to speak.

Rogue unfolded her cane and stood waiting for him. "So what was that all about back there?" she asked. She sounded calm, but there was a trace of annoyance in her voice.

"I told you, I almost bumped into someone. He was just a little slow getting out of the way, that's all." Remy said. He took her arm to guide her into the house as there was too much junk laying around for her to navigate on her own, but Rogue yanked it away from him.

"Remy LeBeau, just because I'm blind don't you start thinking you can hide things from me." she said, her voice definitely annoyed now.

"It's nothing, _petite_..." he started to say, but Rogue interrupted him.

"I'll knock you out if I have to Remy." she warned, and he had a feeling she wasn't kidding.

"Fine." he sighed. "The man I ran into, he just kept staring at you. It was the weirdest thing. I know it will sound crazy, but he looked like he knew you."

Rogue just stood there for a moment, a look of shock on her face. "You're right; that sounds crazy." she said quietly. "Could it have been someone I knew from Mississippi? What did he look like?"

Remy thought back. "Well, he was Native American, tall, looked like he was in his forties. Do you remember knowing anyone like that?"

She was quiet for a minute or two, a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't remember knowing anyone who looked like that." she said. "It's been a long time though. Maybe I knew him after the accident."

Remy nodded to himself. If she had met him after she lost her sight she'd obviously have no clue who he was from a description.

"So what do we do now?" Rogue asked. "Do you think we can find him? If he really does know me I've just got to talk to him. Maybe he's here because he knew that Irene and I had come here when we left Mississippi."

"I'm not sure what to do yet." Remy said honestly. "I want to go back to the cafe and see if anyone there remembers seeing him before. If he has been there before and paid with a credit card I can have Emil track him down that way." Emil wasn't too happy with him right now, but Remy knew that his cousin liked Rogue and would help them for her sake at least.

"_You'll_ go back to the cafe? What about me?" Rogue demanded.

Remy winced inwardly, dreading her reaction. He really didn't need this, it being the day after Etienne's funeral and all. He had to admit though that it was helping to take his mind off the crap of the past few days.

"It'll be easier for me to get around and maybe catch up with him if I go by myself." he said. "Besides, you have studies and I'm sure Martine's wondering where you are."

If anything, her look grew darker. "You forgot to call her, didn't you? In that case you're coming with me. If you think I'm going to face her alone you're crazy." she said.

"But if I go with you I'll never catch up with that guy." Remy said, glad to have an argument to use against her. He really didn't want to face Martine's wrath. Thankfully his argument worked; her expression changed.

"Fine. But you _will_ apologize to her when you get back." Rogue said.

"_Oui, oui._" Remy said, hoping like hell that he could find some way to stay out until Rogue's tutor left.

"Come on." he said, taking her hand. "We're wasting time when I could be looking for him." Thankfully this time she let him take her hand and they left the garage to go into the house, Rogue muttering a few things under her breath that he couldn't quite catch but he was sure weren't very nice.

He left her at the library entrance, promising to come back as soon as possible with some information. She continued to mutter under her breath though as she went into the library. Relieved to have at least temporarily escaped Martine's displeasure, Remy went back to the garage and took out his motorcycle. On the way back to the café he thought about what he would do. If the man hadn't been there before he could at least leave instructions; the café owner was an associate of the Guild, albeit a minor one, and could be persuaded to contact Remy if this guy showed up there. Then he could……. _Well actually, what can I do? _ Remy thought to himself. Here he was about to track down and grab a stranger based on an expression on the man's face. He would be lucky if he didn't get picked up for assault; for all he knew Rogue could have just reminded the guy of someone he knew. Remy didn't think it likely; the shock on the man's face was just too severe, but it was plausible and he needed something more concrete than a facial expression and an uneasy feeling to go on before going after someone like this. Remy needed to find out more about this guy and what he was doing here before doing anything else. So…instead of just slamming the guy against the wall and demanding answers, he would have to take a more civil approach. Assuming he could find him, of course.

Given this thought, he decided that somebody upstairs was liking him, because when he had parked at the café and was putting away his helmet, the door to the café opened and out came the man Remy was looking for. He must not have gotten what he wanted if the annoyed look on his face was any indication. Remy quickly ducked behind the car next to him, not wanting to be seen yet. He wanted to know where this guy was going to go next. His quarry got into his car and Remy stayed hidden while the car drove past him, making sure to see the plate number before it got too far past him. Only after it had pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic did Remy move from his hiding place and get on his bike. Driving away from the café, he followed, making sure to stay two cars behind in an attempt not to be noticed. The man already knew what he looked like and had followed him and Rogue, so Remy didn't want to be close enough to be easily noticed.

He followed the man into downtown, away from the tourist areas and into rows of office buildings. The car parked in front of a building which after a moment Remy realized was the Department of Social Services. _What the hell does he want there?_ He thought to himself. _Oh man….. _ he thought again, thinking he might know. This guy was from Social Services. He must have been involved with Rogue's case somehow and recognizing her at the café, must have been shocked to see her out in public away from the home with a strange young man. Remy knew he didn't really look or act like an upstanding citizen, and he hated to think what this guy must be thinking. _Damn bureaucrats_ The guy was probably about to make inquiries. He'd call the home, and Candace would tell him who Remy was and who knows what kinds of unpleasant things about him. He didn't know if the official would have a problem with him having Rogue out unsupervised, especially given the fact that she was a mutant, but if he did then Remy was in trouble. And he knew Candace would try to make trouble for him if she could.

Remy was lucky enough to find a parking spot a few spots down from the guy, and stepped behind the wall of a covered bus stop as the guy got out of the car. He entered the building and Remy sat down for a moment, wondering what to do next. He couldn't really go in after the guy and ask him about what he was thinking; if the guy didn't have suspicions already that would certainly give him some. Finally he realized there wasn't anything he could do except go home. Sitting here wasn't going to do him any good, and besides, Rogue and Martine were expecting him. As much as Remy would like to avoid the tutor's displeasure, the longer he put it off the worse it would get, and the madder Rogue would get. Getting up, Remy went back to his bike and returned to the house, trying to decide what kind of apology to use on the two women.

Back at the house, he parked his bike and headed to the library. He was almost there when he heard Mercy call his name from behind him.

"Remy!" she called, and he turned around to face her. She was dressed in one of the tasteful and expensive designer suits that she wore when she was working, and Remy figured she would be heading out on a job shortly. When Mercy had a job she would case a business during working hours then bring back the info to use in planning a break-in later on. She could play the part of the beautiful, classy businesswoman or socialite like a star. Remy was sometimes jealous. He dressed up quite nicely and could exude charm as well as the best of them if not better, but Mercy just had a style that he couldn't quite match. Henri had done quite well when he married her.

"Yes, _chere_?" he asked, managing a smile, and she stopped when she reached him.

"Belle called while you were gone." His sister in law said. "She wants you to call her back as soon as possible. Might as well take care of it before you go see Rogue; she sounded rather annoyed."

_Apparently she hasn't gotten over yesterday_ Remy thought to himself, and almost groaned, remembering that he had left his phone upstairs. She must have been impatient if she had called the house instead of waiting for him to call her back on his phone. "Did she say what she wanted?" he asked.

Mercy shook her head. "No, just that she wanted you to call her as soon as you got in."

Remy nodded. "Fine. I'll call her now. You heading out soon?"

"Yeah." Mercy said. "The armored car company makes deliveries to that new credit union on Tuesdays; I figured it would be a good day to check them out."

"Okay, have fun" Remy said, and patted her on the head before heading back down the hall to go upstairs. He went up to his room grumbling to himself, grabbed his phone off of the dresser and flopped down onto the bed. He braced himself as he waited for her to answer, not wanting to get into another argument with her. Finally she picked up.

"Hello Remy. So eager to see your little friend that you forgot your phone?" Belle's voice was tight, and Remy figured Mercy must have told her where he was; mostly likely taking great pleasure in doing so too. He'd have to get after her later for goading Belle.

"Don't start, Belle." He said. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to remind you that the rehearsal is on Saturday at the cathedral at noon, with dinner that night." She said, naming a well-known restaurant. "I've booked the entire restaurant for the evening and expect you there on time."

"Of course." Remy said, and he wanted to bring up again the subject of postponing the wedding, but he knew she would just flip out on him and he didn't want to have to deal with Marius. Not too many men made him nervous, but the head Assassin was a cold-hearted bastard and Remy didn't want to think what the man would do to him if he thought he was backing out on the wedding.

"Also, the bachelor and bachelorette parties are the night before the wedding. Mercy is invited to come to mine if she wants." Belle said, but Remy could tell from the tone of her voice that the invitation was just out of politeness. And that was fine; he already knew that Mercy would rather eat arsenic then spend a night getting drunk with a bunch of female Assassins. He figured Belle probably knew that too.

"I'll ask her." He promised, already knowing what his sister in law's response would be. He made a note to ask her when Tante Mattie wasn't around to hear the language that would result.

"Good. Has Henri made any plans for your party?" Belle asked, knowing that he was Remy's best man.

"I don't know, _chere_. We haven't really been in much of a party mood. We just lost my cousin, remember?" Remy said, getting annoyed. They had just buried Etienne yesterday and she had the gall to ask about his bachelor party? She was being so insensitive about this and he wondered if she was turning into one of those 'bridezilla' women he heard about.

"I know, Remy." She said, her tone softening. "It's traditional though; and knowing your brother I wouldn't be surprised if he had strippers show up. I just wanted to let you know I won't be mad if he does."

"Thanks." Remy said, and normally he would have appreciated that, but right now strippers were the last thing on his mind. Maybe by next week he might be in a little better mood, but he doubted it.

"Look Belle, I need to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?" he said, not really wanting to talk about parties and other wedding details right now. He wanted to go see Rogue; she was probably wondering where the hell he was.

"Fine Remy. Noon at the cathedral on Saturday. I want everyone there on time." Belle said, and hung up. Technically he and Henri were the only ones out of the LeBeau's who were in the actual wedding party, but the rest of the family was expected to be there anyway. Remy wasn't looking forward to the rehearsal dinner. He could picture it; he and Belle sitting there in the restaurant, Jean-Luc and Marius being coldly polite to each other while Mercy made smartass remarks and Julien glared daggers at Remy. Such a picture of family tranquility. And it wasn't just for that dinner; he'd be facing it at family gatherings for the rest of his life. What could he do though? He was just over a week away from becoming a married man. His family's future was riding on this. Remy realized that he was now thinking of this wedding more in terms of securing peace for his family than of his own happiness. His now divided heart took much of the joy out of something he had up until recently wanted very much. He didn't know what else to do though; he had more than himself to think of.

Stuffing his phone into the pocket of his jeans, Remy left his room and went downstairs to join Rogue and Martine and probably face the music.

O-o-o-o-O

Forge stepped into the Social Services office, where he found a waiting area with people sitting in chairs, reading magazines and wearing expressions that ranged from bored to annoyed or impatient. No one really looked very happy to be there. He went up to the receptionist and before he could even open she asked,

"Do you have an appointment?" her tone wasn't rude, just very matter of fact.

"No." he replied honestly.

"Sign here then." She said, pointing to a clipboard that already had several signatures ahead of him. Forge fought back the feeling of impatience and signed his name, the one listed on his driver's license and Department of Defense identification. Then he went and found an empty chair, and grabbing a copy of _Newsweek_ from a nearby coffee table, began to read. Nothing horribly exciting had happened while he had been Magneto's 'guest' in New York. There were new people in power both in the U.S. and abroad, some actors he liked had died, and the world was still suffering from global warming.

The time seemed to pass too slowly as one by one the people ahead of him were taken into one of the offices on the other side of the room, and Forge had almost finished reading his magazine from cover to cover when he heard his name called. He put his magazine down and was led to one of the offices, where a rather frazzled-looking woman in her fifties sat behind a desk. A nameplate on the desk showed her to be Denise Adams.

"Have a seat." Denise said, pointing to a chair in front of the desk, and Forge sat down. "Now what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for a girl who moved down here from Mississippi and would have come into the system over a year ago when her foster mother died. Her name is Rogue Darkholme."

Denise nodded. "Give me just a moment; let me see if I can find her in my system. How do spell the last name?"

Forge spelled it out for her. "Unusual name." she commented as she looked through the records. He just shrugged; he'd had nothing to do with naming her.

Finally her expression lightened. "Here we go." She said, reading further. "Are you here about the petition that was filed this morning?"

"No, what petition?" he asked, confused.

Denise hesitated. "I'm sorry, but if you're not one of the parties involved I'm afraid I can't discuss it without some kind of authorization. Now what did you need regarding Rogue?"

"I need to find her." Forge said, quickly thinking how to explain his situation. He couldn't exactly tell the woman he'd been captured by a mutant terrorist two years ago. "I work for the government; I've been out of communication for the past two years and when I was finally able to come back she was gone. I tracked her here and found out that her foster mother was dead; since she had no one else I figured she'd end up with Social Services." And he had managed to tell that without using a single lie except that of omission.

The social worker watched him intently. "And what relation are you to her?"

Forge hesitated. His first impulse was to lie; he'd been doing it for all of Rogue's life so far and it was just habit now. He knew he had to be careful here though. If he lied now and had to backtrack to tell the truth later, it would only go badly for him. Besides, it was time for him to start telling the truth, and it might as well be here.

"She's my daughter." He said, and Denise looked surprised.

"I think you'd better start telling me what's going on. What happened? Where is Rogue's mother?"

"Her mother and I weren't married. We became estranged, and she died giving birth to Rogue. I was fighting in the war in the Middle East when it happened. When I came back Raven had already given her best friend custody of Rogue in her will. I had been badly injured in battle, and was in no condition to take care of a child, plus Irene had decided to keep her away from me. All I know of recent events is that when I got home there were letters saying Irene had cancer, and by the time I got here she was already dead. I just want to know where she is." Forge said, looking at Denise. "I'm all she has left."

Denise looked at him with a touch of sympathy. "That's quite a story. Do you have any kind of proof though to back up it up? I just can't turn her over to anyone walking in off the street."

Forge frowned. "Why would someone just come in and try to take a blind girl?"

"It's a sick world, Mr…….."

"Anderson." Forge said, using the name on his identification. "John Anderson."

"Mr. Anderson." Denise continued. "There are too many out there who would take advantage of a young girl alone in the world, especially one with a disability. White slavery, for example. Why just the other day the police invaded a white slavery business operating right here in New Orleans."

Given Rogue's mutation, Forge had little worry about her being used sexually. But she could still be hurt, and the thought of people like that having her made him sick so he understood her concern. He wasn't sure if they knew that she was a mutant anyway, and he wasn't about to mention it.

"No, I don't have any proof. Raven didn't put my name on the birth certificate. I don't know where it is now anyway. The only thing you can do is have me take a paternity test."

Denise went back to her computer. "We can certainly do that. You'll also have to fill out a petition and provide references for a background check."

Forge nodded absentmindedly. He'd kind of expected that. It was no problem; he had a good-paying job in the government, had a clean background, and was a war veteran to boot. He would come out of the background check with flying colors. The word petition set off a warning flag in his mind though.

"Wait. You mentioned a petition earlier. I need to know what that is for."

Denise shook her head. "I'm sorry but like I said, I can't discuss that with you without authorization."

A bad thought crossed his mind. Was someone else trying to take Rogue? Highly unlikely, but not impossible. He couldn't think of who would want to do that though. It could be a petition for emancipation, but that was also highly unlikely considering her 18th birthday is in November. He couldn't think of anything else though.

He made a noise of frustration, and Denise looked up from where she was typing. "I'm sorry Mr. Anderson, I really am, but you must understand that we have to do things correctly. Now I'll give you the petition forms to fill out, and after you return them we can set you up for a paternity test sometime next week."

His eyes widened. "Next WEEK?"

"Yes." Denise nodded. "I'm sorry but we're backed up and that's the soonest that I can get you in."

_At this rate it will be November by the time we get this finished_ he thought to himself in annoyance. _Damn bureaucrats_ He knew that Social Services was traditionally an understaffed, high stress department and tried not to take out on her personally.

"Can I at least see Rogue in the meantime?" Forge asked hopefully.

"I think I can set that up. She's at a home for the disabled here in New Orleans. Give me a couple of days and I can set up an appointment for you. What number can I reach you at?" Denise asked, gathering some paperwork together. The packet unfortunately looked rather thick. It would probably take forever to fill out.

Forge gave her his number and she entered it into the computer, then handed him the packet. "After you fill this out we'll set up the paternity test, and depending on the results you can file for custody. I should be able to call you by the day after tomorrow to give you a day you can see Rogue."

He fought back a growl. "Thank you. I appreciate your help." Forge said, taking the packet. He got up and shook Denise's hand, then left the Social Services office to go back to his hotel room and fill out the paperwork. One benefit of having a cybernetic hand was that he didn't get writer's cramp. He'd get the paperwork filled out and file it like a good boy, then wait for his paternity test, but in the meantime he would also start tracking down that home she was in. There couldn't be that many homes for the disabled in New Orleans. The fact that she was in a state home though brought up again the question of who that guy was that was with her earlier. Unfortunately that would have to wait until he could see her. For now he could relax a little bit and take some comfort in the fact that he knew she was safe and being taken care of.

O-o-o-o-O


	33. Interlude: Gemini

O-o-o-o-O

_Bayville, New York_

O-o-o-o-O

_Once upon a time, Pietro Maximoff had a twin. They hadn't shared an egg, but sharing a womb must also create some kind of bond as they had been very close. Wanda was the dark to his light; they were yin and yang, bright and beautiful children who would be the pride and joy of any parent. Any parent other than Erik Lehnsherr, of course. Otherwise known as Magneto, their father was a strong, intelligent mutant who had very high expectations out of his children, and was quick to show his disapproval when those expectations weren't met. When both his and Wanda's mutations emerged those expectations increased; Magneto was pro-mutant to the extreme, and wanted his children to work on bringing their control of their mutations to the highest possible level. So it was completely understandable that Wanda's inability to control her powers annoyed their father to no end. With her control over probability Wanda was an extraordinary powerful mutant, but she was unable to control this power and was prone to fits of rage, making her a threat to those around her. Finally their father said that her mental instability was too dangerous for anyone to deal with, and had Wanda placed in an institution. _

_Pietro still remembered standing with his father when outside the institution when they took his sister away. He could still hear her screaming out over and over, struggling with the orderlies, but as powerful as she was she was still only a child at the time and they had been grown men. In her distress she hadn't seemed to be able to take enough control over her own power to free herself. Because of that they were able to lock her away for the rest of her childhood as well as most of her teenage years. And while they dragged Wanda away Pietro could only stand there; not able to look at the terror in her eyes and wishing he could block his ears so he couldn't hear her scream, but his father was right there next to him and such a display of weakness would have been unthinkable. He knew that Wanda wanted him to help her; to tell their father to stop it, to do something. But what was he supposed to do? He had been only a child himself and once Erik Lehnsherr set his mind to something there was no changing it. And so he stood there, eyes to the ground, inside his heart the need to scream as great as his sister's, but he had always been better at hiding his emotions than she had. Wanda had always said that he and Magneto had been alike in that regard. _

_Eventually Pietro himself had been sent away, this time to live with foster parents. Again he didn't protest, as he had already been separated from the only family that mattered to him. The years went by and eventually his father had him return to Bayville to help make up his group, the Acolytes. By this time Pietro had developed into a rather egotistical and competitive young man. He attended school at Bayville High along with the boy who had become his rival, Evan Daniels, who joined his father's former friend Charles Xavier. The two groups had a deep rivalry, separated by the differing ideals of their leaders and their ideas about humans and what to do about them. Magneto preferred more extreme methods and had no problem with his Acolytes committing violent acts if it got the job done. Actually he preferred it as a method of striking fear into the hearts of humans. _

_When his father announced his most recent project, which would also involve the kidnapping of a mutant government inventor and engineer, Pietro realized the possibilities of what it could do for his sister, and gave him the hope that she could be released from the institution she was in as a result. He wasn't sure if Magneto would be willing to take the chance of letting Wanda out though, and to prevent his father from stopping him, Pietro decided that he had to take matters into his own hands._

_Among his teammates was a mutant shapeshifter named Morph. After managing to convince the young man to help him, Pietro had Morph enter the institution disguised as Professor Xavier, who visited there regularly to help treat Wanda. In this disguise Morph was able to sneak Wanda out of the institution and away to the base where Magneto was working on his project. When she discovered the deception and where she was, Wanda went on a rampage, attempting to kill both Magneto and Pietro, who she equally blamed for her imprisonment. It was only by the talents of the mutant Mastermind that Wanda was finally subdued. _

O-o-o-o-O

Pietro lay on his bed, listening to his sister yelling downstairs, wondering who among his teammates had managed to piss her off this time. His father had had Mastermind alter Wanda's memories so that she no longer wanted him dead, and with the help of the witch Agatha Harkness was learning more about her abilities, but she retained her temper and still had a tense relationship with both him and Pietro. It didn't take much to set her off, and with the antics of the people they lived with she was often in a rage. They were in Bayville, New York, to avoid Wanda causing anymore damage to Magneto's project. He was quite put out with Pietro, first for breaking Wanda out of the institution without his knowledge, and then for his sister's temper tantrum allowing his captive inventor to escape. There had been no luck in finding Forge since his escape over a week ago, and Magneto was now having to find another engineer to finish the work that Forge had been so close to completing. Pietro was undecided on how he felt about this. On the one hand he wanted this invention finished; the power and degree of control it could give Wanda led him to believe that it would help stabilize her and decrease the rage she had. On the other hand he had felt a little sorry for Forge, and wasn't completely sorry that he had escaped. Magneto had been holding his daughter over his head to blackmail him into working for him. Pietro had never met Rogue, but he had heard about her. The child of Forge and his father's long dead associate Mystique, she had been intended for Magneto to take for one of his Acolytes. The deception of the mutant Destiny and Rogue's car accident as a child had prevented this though. Apparently this would be changed when Magneto found them though. Rogue would be recruited regardless of her blindness; and Destiny…well, Pietro wasn't sure what would happen to her but nobody crossed his father and got away with it. It was just a matter of finding them. The key to that though would be to find Forge.

His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door. The only person in the house who bothered to knock was Piotr whenever he happened to be staying there, so other than that it could be anybody. The last person he expected was his father. Magneto rarely came to Pietro's room; preferring to summon his son downstairs when he was wanted. Here he was now though; with his cold, intelligent eyes, and physically fit for someone who had been a boy in World War II, he was an intimidating presence in the doorway.

"Pietro." Magneto said in his normal stern voice. "I am returning to the base. I have found an engineer to pick up where Forge left off; if he moves quickly we will be able to proceed in a couple of weeks. In the meantime you are in charge; I expect you to keep things under control, particularly in regards to your sister." He paused. "You wanted her so badly now you can be responsible for her. If it wasn't for you this wouldn't be necessary, I would still have Forge and the work would be finished by now." His gaze upon his son was coldly disapproving.

Pietro was unrepentant though, even under the force of his father's displeasure. Standing up, he looked Magneto straight in the eyes.

"You know why I did it." He said, forcing himself to remain calm. "The machine you're building will help Wanda control her powers, bringing her to her maximum potential. You wouldn't have released her to use it on her though; you would have just kept her there because you're afraid she'll be more powerful than you. You'll use it on all those other mutants but not on her. I had to do it."

Magneto just looked at him a moment, and Pietro wondered sometimes what his father saw whenever he did that.

"Regardless of why you did it, it was foolish." Magneto said. "And now the timetable has been set back and I have had to go to additional lengths to finish this. In the meantime we have more complications. I have learned that the Sentinel project is complete. The mutant registration in Louisiana is expected to pass, and there is a strong possibility that the day it passes the Sentinels will be unleashed here and other places to 'celebrate' the occasion." He said derisively. "We will use this to help expose the X-Men to the world, and show Charles how misguided his faith in humanity is."

Pietro nodded. Despite their disagreement regarding Wanda, he was willing to follow his father's orders. "We'll be ready." He said.

"I expect nothing less." Magneto replied, and with that turned and left the room. Pietro sat down on the bed and sighed. A few minutes later he heard the front door close heavily as his father left the house. The yelling had stopped just before his father entered the room, and he supposed he should go downstairs and make sure there wasn't too much damage to either the house or its other occupants.

Downstairs in the living room he found Blob flopped out on the couch watching cartoons, his massive bulk occupying most of the couch and spilling over the sides in a couple of places. Truly the guy disgusted him sometimes. No, make that most of the time. The same with Toad, who was perched on the top of an armchair, looking somewhat abused. Apparently it was him who had been the focus of his sister's wrath this time.

"Where's Wanda?" Pietro asked.

Toad shrugged, then winced when his shoulders moved, and Pietro figured he must have been thrown against the wall at least once.

"In the kitchen, yo." The reptilian mutant said. "She totally went ballistic when she found out I went into her closet. I just wanted to get her size to get her a present."

Pietro stared at him like he was crazy. "That's just suicide. Besides, where'd you get the money to get her a present anyway?"

Toad grinned. "Five finger discount." He said, wiggling his fingers.

Pietro just shook his head and left the room to go to the kitchen. Inside he found his sister at the counter making a sandwich.

"I hear Father put you in charge." She said coldly, and Pietro rolled his eyes. He wondered sometimes if she had eyes in the back of her head.

"Yeah. " he said, leaning against the wall.

"Doesn't surprise me. You're just like him." Wanda said.

She'd accused him of that before, and like always it hurt, feeling like a person insult. Despite Mastermind's tampering with her mind, he still felt in some way that she was blaming him for doing nothing when she had been locked away as a child. He wanted to apologize; he was so sorry, he'd never wanted her to go and that he would have done anything if he thought it could keep her with him. They weren't close anymore, it didn't feel like they were twins anymore and it hurt; she was too damaged to let him back in. Pietro didn't know what to do to make things right; maybe there was no way to do that. The only thing he could do now was hope that the machine their father was building would help her gain the stability that she's needed for so long.

"You're wrong." He said quietly. "You don't know me anymore; you haven't known me for a long time."

Wanda turned around and looked at him. "And whose fault is that?" she asked, and Pietro wondered what was in her mind, if maybe she was starting to remember the things that Mastermind had removed from her head. If she was then it showed a remarkable restraint on her part considering how she had behaved before Mastermind's alteration of her memories.

"Not mine." Pietro responded, still keeping his voice low to keep from being overheard by the others. "Wanda I need you on my side again." He said, allowing himself a rare moment of weakness. "We were always one against everything. I know you're angry but I didn't do it. Don't take it out on me." He said, not wanting to risk trouble by trying to find out exactly what she did or didn't remember about her past.

She just watched him. "I don't know." She said finally, and taking her plate, left the kitchen. She didn't seem angry though, and Pietro took this as hope that perhaps she could eventually let go of her animosity towards him; maybe even some day let him back in again. For now though the best he could hope for was a truce; and holding on to that as a sign of progress he went back to the living room. If there was going to be a battle coming up they needed to get back in shape, and perhaps his father would be satisfied with him if he could get these guys to train.

_Yeah, right._

O-o-o-o-O


	34. As the Net Tightens

O-o-o-o-O

Once again Forge was contemplating the incarnation of evil on earth otherwise known as bureaucracy. The paperwork that Denise had given him to fill out had taken several hours and by the time he was finished his brain could be described as extra crispy. It seemed like they wanted to know almost everything about him including what he'd had for breakfast yesterday. Family information, his military service and his current employment with the Department of Defense; they wanted it all. It was almost like applying for a loan. He just hoped they didn't pull his credit report; after two years of inactivity his FICO scores were probably shot. Could someone be turned down for custody for lack of credit? It wouldn't surprise Forge at all. They'd be contacting his superiors at the DoD as well when this was turned in to verify information, and when they did it would be impossible for him to escape the questions and debriefings that would follow from his time in captivity. Forge wouldn't have been able to put it off forever anyway, and he figured it was probably time to get it over with.

By the time he finished completing the paperwork, the Social Services office was closed for the day, and Forge ended up having to put the documents in a sealed envelope and dropping it into the office mail slot. There was a phone book back at the hotel that he could use to get the information he needed, but these days more information could be found online, so he found a computer store and bought a small laptop, then grabbed some Chinese takeout and headed back to the hotel. Thankfully the hotel provided wireless internet, so it wasn't too long before Forge was drinking egg drop soup and searching online for anything about homes for the disabled in New Orleans. He wasn't a hacker, but as an inventor and engineer, and having gone through the trials of getting a PhD, he knew how to do research. It turned out there were three homes for the disabled in the city; one private and two run by the state. It was highly unlikely that she would be at the private home, so that left two for him to search at. Unfortunately information about the residents was private, so he couldn't tell which one Rogue was living at, which left him little choice but to visit each one and see what he could find out. Forge figured he could use a 'long-lost relative' story for the officials at the homes, until he found the one that had Rogue. He didn't feel like telling his story to every bureaucratic official he ran into. He would have to be careful though; he could run into trouble if he showed up at the steps of the home with a fake story and then came back later as an official visitor with the truth. Bureaucrats tended to take offense at being deceived. One would think they'd be used to it though, given all the bullshit they gave others.

Forge wrote down the addresses and phone numbers for the two institutes, and popped a piece of sweet and sour chicken into his mouth before sitting back on the hotel bed. With nothing else left to do, he surfed the channels on the television until he found an old movie, which he watched until he fell asleep, falling into dreams.

O-o-o-o-O

_Around seven years ago…_

_The Mississippi hospital was white and sterile, the faint medicinal smell tugging at Forge's nose almost from the minute he walked in. It was a smell he was familiar with; the months he'd spent in the hospital after being injured during the war, both while he was incapacitated and while he was undergoing physical therapy, had left him with a strong dislike for the smell. From the moment he'd received the phone call though, there had been no question that he would come. Unlike the rest of the hospital, the children's ward was painted in bright colors, with murals on the walls of happy children and animals at play. All the better to cheer up the sick and injured kids it housed. The medicinal smell was still there, but it was pretty unavoidable. Forge read the numbers on the doors of the rooms as he strode quickly down the hall, the urge to run almost a physical ache inside of him. Finally he reached the room he was looking for, and didn't hesitate to open the door and enter. _

_The room was quiet except for the sound of the various machines monitoring the vitals of the single patient there. Rogue lay like a doll on the bed, eyes closed, connected to the machines nearby, too quiet, too still. Forge had pictures back in Dallas that had been taken of her over the years, and he knew that she was an active, happy child. It had been too many years since he had seen her in person or touched her, but the cuts and bruises on her face caused the same torment that any parent felt on seeing their child hurt, and the lump in his throat was too painful to swallow over. Forge approached the bed; Irene sat in a chair next it, quietly reading a book in Braille but he didn't acknowledge her presence; his attention was completely caught up in his daughter. She was covered in a blanket, except for one hand that remained out due to the IV tube that had been inserted into her skin. Forge reached his good hand out and touched hers lightly, reveling at being here to touch her but hating the circumstances that brought him here. It was wrong, seeing that there, the tube breaking her skin, and the wrongness pricked at him. The whole scenario was wrong. Rogue wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be at home, playing with her friends, not lying in this bed. _

"_You shouldn't have come." Irene said quietly, and Forge was forced to acknowledge her finally. _

"_You honestly expected me to stay away? You had to know that I would come here when you called. I couldn't not do it; she's still my child." He replied just as quietly, not wanting to wake Rogue._

"_I almost didn't call."_

_Forge wrapped his fingers around his daughter's slender little hand, careful not to disturb the IV tube._

"_I wouldn't put it past you. We had an agreement though." He said, not turning to look at her. _

"_It's the only reason I did." Irene replied, and he could hear the gentle sound of a page turning. A biting remark nearly came to his lips, but this was neither the time nor the place for an argument._

"_What happened?" Forge asked, not able to keep his voice from wavering as he looked at his little girl._

"_I told you, it was a car accident. I thought she knew to wear her seat belt, but apparently she didn't have it on when it happened. She hit the windshield head first." A soft sigh came from behind him. "I haven't told you everything yet. The doctors have gone over the results of the MRI scan. Her….she has sustained some brain damage." Irene said, and for the first time since Raven's death Forge heard pain and uncertainty in the normally calm woman's voice. "It's affected the vision center and the doctors say they can't operate without causing more damage. When…when Rogue wakes up there is a ninety-nine percent certainty that she will be blind."_

_Stunned, Forge felt shaky, and was forced to sit on the edge of the bed. This couldn't be happening, right? Someone had to be mistaken. Rogue couldn't be blind. She was only ten years old; it was too cruel to take away such an important part of life from such a bright, happy girl. _

"_Has she woken up at all?" he asked. What were they going to do when she woke up? How would they tell her what had happened? Forge couldn't imagine the fear she would feel, waking up to darkness and then being told it was permanent. There wasn't really a 'they' in this though, as it would be Irene who would do the talking. He supposed he should feel some relief that he wasn't the one who would have the responsibility of telling her; Rogue didn't even know who he was after all, but it felt wrong to not have that responsibility. He was her father; it should be him telling her. He and Irene had an agreement though. He looked down at the little hand, so soft and fragile in his, and his heart ached._

"_No; she was knocked unconscious when she hit the windshield, and has been out since then." Irene said._

"_And there's nothing they can do? There must be something." Forge asked, grasping at straws. If there had been any hope of fixing it, Irene would know, she'd be able to see it, right? _

"_No. I have seen it, the doctors will not be able help her." The older woman's response was too certain for Forge to retain any hope._

"_How long will you be staying?" Irene asked, and Forge finally looked at her. She was still reading her book; her fingers sliding gracefully over the pages. _

"_Until she wakes up of course. Until I know she's okay. You really expect me to just leave again? Besides, it's not like she'll be able to see me now anyway, right?" he asked, unable to keep bitterness from entering his voice. She sounded like she was trying to get rid of him already, and he had only just arrived. It felt like just one more thing cutting his daughter off from him. If he wasn't around, Rogue couldn't see him, couldn't question who he was and why he wasn't in her life. But that wouldn't be a problem anymore, now would it? If they were in the same room together he would just be another voice. Forge had had hopes that when the danger from Magneto was passed, that he would be able to be a part of her life again, and they could be a family. And while that might still happen, she would never see his face now, never know what her father looked like. Irene kept pictures of Raven in the house, so Rogue knew her mother's face. How ironic that the parent who ultimately would have ended up hurting her would be remembered, while he was a shadow hovering on the edges of her life, and even if she came to know him, would still only be a voice to her._

_Another page turned. "I hope you don't expect to stay at the house."_

_Forge glared at her, wishing she could see and feel his anger. "No. I'll get a room near the hospital." He didn't think he'd be able to stand staying in the same house with Irene for any length of time anyway. The only reason they even stayed civil to each other was the little girl on the bed._

_He heard a movement from the bed, and turned to see Rogue shift. She opened her eyes, and while Forge could see their pretty green color, there was no life to them, no awareness of anything in front of her. She turned her head, trying to look around, and while he and Irene were right in front of her there was no indication that she could see them._

"_Irene?" Rogue asked hesitantly, and her foster mother got up from the chair and felt for her hand. Rogue grabbed it tightly. "I'm here Rogue."_

"_Is it night? Why's it so dark?" the little girl asked. "Where am I?"_

_Forge swallowed and stepped back, wanting to go to her but he couldn't. There was no place for him here. He'd promised._

_Irene felt in front of her for the bed and sat down carefully on it, still holding Rogue's hand. _

"_Rogue, sweetheart, you were in an accident…" she began carefully…_

O-o-o-o-O

Remy parked his bike in the garage and entered the house. After receiving a scolding from Martine for playing hooky this morning she'd assigned him two chapters to read in Braille, so he'd spent the rest of the afternoon in the library with her and Rogue, reading Dante. It wasn't even "Inferno", which he thought was fascinating; instead it was "Paradiso", which frankly was rather boring. He supposed that technically he didn't really have to do what she said; she was Rogue's teacher after all, not his, but Martine was a rather difficult person to say no to, having taught for so long she just had that air of command that automatically made him listen. Besides, learning Braille was interesting. Finally though the lessons ended, and after Martine left for the day Remy took Rogue back to the home. Normally he'd park his bike in the driveway if it was nice weather, but after what had happened this morning with that man at the café, Remy didn't want to chance it if he decided to come back to this neighborhood to look for him and Rogue so he'd parked in the garage.

He headed for the kitchen, hoping to find Emil there. Remy had remembered something on the way back home that might help him find out exactly who that guy he'd bumped into was, but he'd need Emil's help. He knew Emil was mad at him still, but the young man happened to like Rogue, and Remy was hoping to cash in on that. He found his cousin sitting at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes while Tante Mattie fried something delicious-smelling on the stove. Normally Remy would make a snide remark about having been collared as kitchen labor, but he didn't want to risk pissing Emil and having him turn down his request. Grabbing a grape out of a basket of fruit on the table that was probably a leftover from the reception yesterday, Remy sat down at the table across from Emil.

"I need your help with something." He said.

Emil didn't look up from his potatoes. "Hello Remy. Oh I'm fine, thanks for asking, Remy. And you?" he said in a flat voice.

Remy rolled his eyes. "Hello Emil. How are you today? I need your help with something."

His cousin finally looked up, but his expression wasn't very friendly. "I'm not exactly in the mood to do you any favors right now."

"It's not for me, it's for Rogue. I think there might be a problem, but I need your help to find out for sure."

Emil's expression cleared at this, only to turn into concern. "What's going on?" he asked, and Tante turned her head to watch them.

Remy grabbed another grape and sat back in his chair. "When we were leaving the café after breakfast this morning, we nearly ran into this guy coming in, and from the way he was looking at Rogue, I think he knows her. He tried to follow us back here to the house, but I lost him. Later I caught up with him again and he parked outside the Social Services office. I need to find out who this guy is, how he knows Rogue and whether he could be any trouble. That's where you come in." he said, popping the grape into his mouth. "I got his license plate number, and I wanted to ask if you'd look it up and see who it belongs to." Normally Theo was the computer whiz of the family, but given the state of things right now it was highly unlikely that his cousin would even talk to him right now, let alone help him. Emil was Remy's next best bet.

Emil actually had a trace of amusement on his face. Remy figured he must be loving the idea of Remy needing something from him, and could almost see the direction his thoughts were running in. "As much as I'd love to help Rogue." Emil said. "I can't right now. I've got to finish peeling these potatoes."

Remy made a face. He should have expected this. "I'll peel the potatoes." He hated peeling potatoes, and Emil knew it. "In that case I'd more than happy to help Rogue." Emil said, handing over the peeler with a little smile. "So what's the plate number?"

Remy told him, and Emil wandered upstairs to use the computer in his room. He looked down at the potatoes with a glare. "The things I do for that_ fille_." Remy grumbled, and picked up the peeler.

Tante Mattie gave a little snort of laughter. "It's good for you, boy. Builds character."

Remy puffed himself up, looking indignant. "I've got lots of character, Tante."

"No, you _are_ a character." She retorted.

Remy couldn't help but smile a little. This was good; it gave him hope that things could go back to normal. Well, not really _normal_, per se, things could never go back to the way they were before this weekend, there was a hole in the family that could never be filled, but there was hope that they could recover, and keep going. He hadn't been sure at first. There had been other deaths in the Guild, rather unavoidable after so many years of war with the Assassins. This time had just been too close to home though. His heart still hurt, and he couldn't turn his thoughts to what had happened without that mind-numbing grief threatening to take over again. He had to keep going though; they all had to.

"But that's why everyone loves me." Remy said, and attacked the poor defenseless potato with the peeler.

Tante just snorted again, and Remy set himself to peeling.

He was just about finished with the entire bowl when Emil came back into the kitchen.

_Good timing_ Remy thought to himself. "So, you find out who that guy is?" he asked.

Emil sat down at the table. "Whoever he is, I don't think he's with Social Services. The car's a rental. Currently being used by a John Anderson,who provided a Texas driver's license when he signed for it."

Remy was surprised. He hadn't expected something like this.

Tante turned down the flame on the stove and turned around. "Texas?" she asked. "I thought you said Rogue was from Mississippi. Does she even know anyone from Texas?"

Remy shook his head. "I don't know, Tante. There's a lot about her life that even she doesn't know. It's looking like her foster mother had a lot of secrets."

Emil looked serious. "Do you really think he knows Rogue?"

"I won't know for certain until I talk to him, but from the look on his face when he saw her, I'd swear he did. This is getting weird. I really want to know what he was doing at Social Services now." Remy said.

"How are you going to find him?" Emil asked. "The guy's not local, he could be staying anywhere in town."

Remy put the last of the potatoes in the bowl and wiped his hands off with a towel. "I'll talk to Bateau over at the café tomorrow. Monsieur Anderson has been over there at least twice now, and from the look on his face the last time I saw him there, I bet he was asking about Rogue, and not getting anywhere." Otis Bateau was the café's owner, and had done a little work for the Guild in the past. He'd talk to Remy. If nothing turned up that way, there was always the Social Services office, but he'd have to be careful taking that route. It wasn't like he could just go in and ask if someone named John Anderson had come looking for Rogue. He also couldn't hang around outside the office all day either, in hopes of spotting the guy there, it would look suspicious, and he couldn't do anything that would jeopardize his standing with the court.

"Perhaps it is a family member, come to find her? We know she has a brother now." Tante Mattie said, turning to stir the mixture on the stove.

"Now that would be weird." Emil commented. "Two family members coming out of the woodwork at the same time? What are the odds of that?"

Remy shrugged. "I don't know. If he's family though, why didn't he talk to her when he saw us? All I know is, I don't like this, and I'm going to get some answers." He knew that Rogue had family now; Kurt would do anything he could to help his sister if she needed it, but she had been Remy's responsibility first, and as long as she was still in New Orleans he was going to look out for her.

O-o-o-o-O

Wednesday morning Remy picked Rogue up as normal, but instead of joining her and Martine for the usual study session he left her with her tutor, saying he had some leads to follow regarding the man they'd met the day before. Remy knew that she was annoyed at being left out of the search, but it would be faster for him to do this on his own and besides, he didn't want this guy anywhere near Rogue again until he found out exactly who he was and what he wanted with her. There was still the possibility that this was all a big misunderstanding of course, but somehow Remy doubted it.

He parked his bike at the café they'd had breakfast at yesterday and walked in. The breakfast rush was still going on, and Remy took in the divine smells of sausage, chicory and fresh-baked pastry. He greeted the hostess with a smile and made his way to the back of the restaurant and stuck his head in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Otis!" Remy called out.

A solid-looking man in his thirties looked up from his position at one of the counters. A bright white smile shone out from the coffee-colored skin that gave away his Creole heritage. Otis Bateau had owned this restaurant for about nine years, and was known for both his discretion and his light hand with pastry. Once upon a time he'd also been known for his talent for safecracking, but cooking was his passion, and when the restaurant had gone up for sale he'd turned in his tools in exchange for a spatula. The restaurant was a safe haven for the Thieves if they needed it, and they gave him repeat business.

"Remy!" Otis grinned, then had one of his assistants take over the bread dough he was kneading. He washed his hands and came over to the younger man. "How you doing, boy? I had a feeling you'd being showing up today. Come on, let's talk in the office." Not waiting for an answer, Otis walked past Remy and entered the hallway that led to the restrooms before turning into a doorway on the left.

Remy followed along, used to Otis's energetic manner. Once inside the office, he closed the door behind him and sat down in one of the comfy armchairs that Otis kept. The restaurant owner was already sitting in his own well-worn chair.

"Had a guy asking about you yesterday, but I bet you knew that already." Otis said.

"You mean the girl I was here with yesterday; he was asking about her, right?"

Otis shook his head. "No, he was asking about you. Who you were, if you lived around here, that kind of thing. He told Aimee out front that he'd seen your bike and wanted to ask if you'd sell it, but she didn't bite. She knows not to answer questions about Guild members, and referred him to me." Aimee, Otis's hostess, was not a Guild member herself but Otis had made her aware that there might be things going on at the café sometimes that she would need to keep quiet about, and paid her well for her discretion.

Remy of course didn't buy the bit about his bike for a moment. "And what did you tell him?"

A smile spread across Otis's face. "I told him I'm a busy man, and don't have time to remember every face that comes into my restaurant."

"Of course not." Remy smiled back. "What do you remember about him?"

"Well, he's an Indian." Otis said, never having cared about political correctness. "Got a faint accent but it's not local. I don't think he's from around here. Also, thought this was interesting, he's got a prosthetic hand."

Remy blinked. "A prosthetic hand?"

"Yeah. He shook my hand before he left. Polite fellow; something's got him stressed though. He was rather unhappy when Aimee and I told him we couldn't help him."

"He cause any trouble?" Remy asked.

Otis shook his head. "No, he just asked his questions and left. Mind if I ask what's going on?"

"Don't know yet." Remy shrugged. "But I don't like how he was looking at my friend yesterday; just want to make sure there won't be any trouble. Listen, if he comes in again, can you get his number? Tell him I came back in or something, and that I might be interested in selling the bike."

"Sure thing, Remy." Otis said; both men then got up and shook hands. Remy left the café while Otis went back to his kitchen. Not sure where else to go, and not wanting to be seen stalking the Social Security office, Remy got on his bike and returned to the house.

O-o-o-o-O

_Dallas, Texas_

O-o-o-o-O

Pietro flinched as a lamp fell to the floor and smashed. Then he wondered why he was flinching; it wasn't his home, wasn't his lamp. He and the rest of the Brotherhood were in Dallas, tossing Forge's apartment for clues to where he might be. Magneto had sent the Acolytes down here to search right after the inventor disappeared, but they hadn't found anything. Now his father was sending the Brotherhood down, more likely to get them out of his hair than anything else. There was a new engineer finishing the project Forge had worked on, but Pietro knew that Magneto hated loose ends and would want Forge back for punishment. Magneto wasn't the only one who wanted to get Forge. Lance was still angry that the man had first stolen and then smashed up his Jeep. Pietro had made a remark that it must be because he now didn't have wheels for his one-sided courtship of Kitty Pride and ended up having to duck to avoid the ceiling fan that Lance caused to almost drop on his head.

Pietro hoped to get a chance to see a little bit of the Dallas nightlife before leaving, but he doubted they'd have time. Magneto was expecting them back the minute they either found Forge or determined that there were no clues to his whereabouts. Then again that might take awhile. The lamp had been knocked over by Toad, who was dodging hex-bolts thrown by Wanda. Personally Pietro couldn't understand why Toad persisted in pursuing her. Yeah, she was his sister and he loved her, but she had a hair-trigger temper and was downright scary when she was pissed. Toad didn't stand a chance in the world with her, but he kept at it anyone. Pietro thought he must be a masochist.

Lance was searching the bedroom, while Blob checked out the kitchen. Pietro didn't want to think about what he could possibly be eating in there. Forge had been gone from this place for two years; any food in there had to be either moldy or stale. As for himself, he was searching the living room. He'd gone through the desk, and was now checking out the litter of paper and other debris that was on the floor; probably left over from when the Acolytes had visited. Toad leaped by him and Pietro ducked just barely in time to avoid the hex bolt that his sister sent flying in that direction. It sailed over his head and Pietro looked up at Wanda.

"HEY! Knock it off! You almost got me." He complained.

His sister looked completely unrepentant. "Sorry. Tell that little reptile to leave me alone."

Perched on top of the entertainment center, Toad actually managed to look insulted. "Reptile? I'm an amphibian, baby." He said.

Pietro glared at him. "I don't care what you are, just shut up and leave my sister alone. Wanda," he said, looking back at her. "We're supposed to be looking for something that'll tell us where Forge went. Do you think you could stop trying to kill him long enough to help?"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Whatever." But she went over to a cabinet and started looking through it.

Barely keeping himself from sighing, Pietro sat down on the floor and started going through the various papers and other things lying around. He tossed aside bills and other pieces of junk mail, and picked up a crumpled wad of paper. He was going to toss it aside with the others, but then decided to open it. After reading the contents, he was glad he did.

"HEY GUYS! I found something!" Pietro called out. His teammates came in from the rest of the apartment and stood looking down at him. He held up the paper.

"It's a letter from Destiny." He said. "It's dated over a year ago. Apparently she got sick and had to go to New Orleans for treatment."

Wanda took the letter out of his hand and read it. "A little more than sick; she's got cancer. This has the name of the hospital on it, too."

Lance grinned. "So we're going to New Orleans?"

Toad hopped off the entertainment center. "Sweet, party time."

Blob just smiled, no doubt imagining all the good food he could find down there. Pietro was rather excited about the idea of going too, but seeing the other Brotherhood members get excited made him nervous. He wondered if New Orleans was ready for them.

"Yep, we're going to New Orleans. And when we find our little runaways, cancer is going to be the last of their problems."

O-o-o-o-O


	35. The Brotherhood Does the Big Easy

O-o-o-o-O

Thursday morning started out bright and sunny, enough that Forge had to put on sunglasses when he left the hotel. Breakfast was a sausage and egg burrito grabbed at the McDonald's drive-thru, and he was on his way. Yesterday had been an exercise in futility and he hoped that today wouldn't be spent the same way. He'd written down the names and addresses of the two state homes he had found online; Pine Knolls and Azalea Lane. As Pine Knolls was closer to where he was staying, he had spent Wednesday observing the place, hoping to catch some glimpse of Rogue and her fiery-eyed friend. No such luck though; he'd seen no sign of her at all, and while it could have been just a day where she didn't go out, Forge didn't want to waste any more time than he had already and decided today to check out the other facility, Azalea Lane. If he didn't see Rogue there, then he would just have to wait for the woman at Social Services to get back to him on when he could visit, but he hoped to find her before then, at least for his own peace of mind. Forge didn't know how far Magneto was in his search for them, but there was no doubt in his mind that the man was looking for them. Lehnsherr wasn't the sort of man to let people get away from him. Forge didn't dare stay in New Orleans any longer than necessary; if Magneto dug deep enough Forge was sure he would pick the trail on Irene and Rogue that would lead him here. There was no way in hell that Forge was going to let that man get his hands on his daughter. He hadn't wanted to believe it when Magneto had told him that Rogue had been promised to him, but part of him wouldn't put it past Raven to do something like that. The woman had thrown her own son off a bridge; what was to stop her from giving her daughter to a mutant terrorist? He was thankful to Irene for deciding that she couldn't let that happen; it was probably the first time he was aware of that she had ever disagreed with Raven on something major. It was probably the only thing that he and Irene agreed on though. What would have happened if Raven had survived? Would there have been any trace of them when he came back from the Middle East? Forge hated to think of it, Rogue brought up to be a member of Magneto's Acolytes, or even the Brotherhood.

Azalea Lane was in a quiet neighborhood, and Forge parked across the street. There was a bus stop there, and sitting down on the bench, he took out his breakfast and began to eat as he read a newspaper he'd taken from the hotel. If anyone asked, he was just waiting on a bus. The breakfast burrito was rather bland and he wished he'd thought to grab hot sauce to go with it. The food would have been better if he'd gone back to that café, but Forge hadn't wanted to risk missing Rogue if she was here. The employees he'd talked to at the café hadn't known anything about that young man Remy, so it didn't seem like they were regulars.

Forge had finished the breakfast burrito and was reading the comics when the sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted him. The only person he'd given the number to so far was the Social Services office, and it was surprising to have them call back so soon, but then again the woman he'd spoken to on Tuesday had said she'd be calling today. He just hadn't expected her to keep her word.

"Hello?" he spoke into the phone.

"Good morning, Mr. Anderson? This is Denise Adams at Social Services, how are you today?"

"Fine, thank you." Forge said. He wanted to just skip the pleasantries and ask her how soon he could see Rogue, but he needed this woman on his side. A motorcycle came down the street, and his attention was caught as he watched it pull into Azalea Lane's parking lot. The rider got off and removed his helmet, and Forge saw that it was Rogue's mysterious companion, Remy. The young man put his helmet away and walked into the building.

_Bingo_

"Glad to hear it. I have good news. We've had a cancellation today and if you're free I can get you in today to get the paternity test done." Denise said.

"That's great." Forge said in surprise. He hadn't expected to be able to get it taken care of this quickly, after being told the other day that they were backed up. Maybe Denise was taking pity on him? He certainly hoped so. Of course it could be practical reasons too; why continue to house a girl who had a perfectly acceptable living relative available. But Forge didn't care what the reasoning was. He needed every advantage he could get to work his way through the bureaucratic system, the sooner the better.

"So when can I come in?" he asked.

"I'll give you the address for the testing facility we use. Can you be there in an hour?"

Forge had continued to look at the building Remy had walked into, and watched as the young man came back out with Rogue. She was wearing a backpack and walked with him easily, tapping the adamantium cane he had given her in front of her. He was torn. As much as he wanted to follow, and possibly get a chance to approach and talk to her, he also needed to get her out of New Orleans as soon as possible, which meant jumping through the hoops of Social Services. At least he knew where she was living now.

"Yes, I can do that. Where do I go?"

As Forge took down the address, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Remy and Rogue get on the motorcycle and pull out of the parking lot, and again he wondered who this Remy person was, and where they were going.

O-o-o-o-O

Rogue kept her arms wrapped tightly around Remy's waist as they rode to his house. The weather man on the radio this morning had said that it was a beautiful day outside, and Rogue believed him. The humidity wasn't too bad today, and there had been a gentle breeze when they left the building that carried the faint scent of flowers; probably from the houses nearby. All in all, a nice day for a ride on the motorcycle, and Rogue was determined to enjoy it while she could. She didn't know how long it would be before she left New Orleans to move to New York, and she didn't know if anyone at Kurt's school had a motorcycle. Besides, even if someone did, it wouldn't be the same as riding with Remy and she didn't know if she could feel comfortable being as close to someone else like this. Maybe in time, but it would take awhile to get to know a bunch of new people. It made her nervous, but she knew she was doing the right thing. Now if she could only figure out how to tell Remy. Of course he knew that she was leaving, he just didn't know that she had asked to leave earlier than planned. Rogue knew he would be disappointed; well, okay, a selfish part of her _hoped_ he would be disappointed. She just couldn't stay here while he was going to marry another girl; especially that bitch Belladonna.

They turned and Rogue felt the change in the ground they went over that indicated they had turned onto the driveway of the LeBeau house. Remy parked and they both got off the bike; Rogue held out the helmet and he took it from her to put away, then handed her the cane.

"We're in the garage again, _chere_. Hang on a second." Remy said, and Rogue heard him walk around the motorcycle and take her arm.

"Why are we parking in here now, Remy? You've been doing that the past couple of days." Rogue commented as he guided her into the house.

"It's that _homme _that followed us the other day." Remy said. "He was sitting across the street from the home this morning. I don't want him to see the bike parked outside and find us here. I still haven't found out anything more about him than I did yesterday."

Rogue nodded. Yesterday Remy told her about what Emil had found out; that this John Anderson was from Texas, had a rental car and was probably not from Social Services. What did he want then? She couldn't figure out who this person was at all. She didn't remember anyone named John Anderson, and as far as she knew, she didn't know anyone from Texas. Was it an old friend of Irene's? Whoever he was, it was rather disturbing that he seemed to be tracking her down.

_An old friend of Irene's…_

Rogue wondered. Could it be? It had been years ago, and as far as she knew he had only visited once, but still…

"Remy, I had a thought." She said hesitantly.

"Yes, _chere_?"

"When I was thirteen, a man came to visit us once. Irene said he was an old friend of hers and my mother's, and that he worked for the government. I never knew his name, but he gave me this cane." Rogue said. She debated whether or not to tell him about the special material it was made from, given that Irene had told her to keep it a secret; but then she decided that Irene had kept too many things secret that should have been out in the open, and she trusted Remy anyway.

"The stuff it's made from is supposedly really rare, and she didn't want me to tell anyone about it. She called ad...adamantium. I figure if he was a good enough friend to give us something rare like that, he might be wondering where we are. I wonder if he's the guy you saw?"

"Adamantium, _chere_?" Remy asked, a trace of wonder in his voice. "If that's what that thing is made of, then that is a _truly_ good friend. Adamantium's the kind of thing that only governments can afford, and then only if they've got a good amount of spare cash handy. Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. Irene made it very clear that it was a secret and that I could never tell a soul what it was."

"Well. If this is the same guy I could understand him wanting to find you. He'd be looking to protect his investment." Remy said. "I still don't like this whole following business, but it gives a possible explanation for why he's doing it."

Rogue didn't respond, wondering now why a man she didn't know had given her such an expensive gift. The only reason she could think of was that it was done to please Irene. It was her friend, after all.

"Martine's not here yet; you want anything?" Remy asked after they entered the house.

"Tea sounds good." Rogue said, and as they walked she heard the clatter of dishes which announced that they were entering the kitchen. It sounded like someone was washing, but she couldn't tell who it was. Remy left her at the table and she felt around for a chair and sat down, leaning her cane against the table.

"How's Mercy feeling?" Remy asked, and Rogue could hear him moving around the kitchen.

"She's doing better." Came the reply from the sink, and the washer turned out to be Henri. "She's upstairs resting, and Tante's gone out to get some ginger for her stomach."

Rogue was concerned for her friend at hearing this. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.

"I think she's got a bug or something." Henri replied. "She was throwing up earlier this morning."

"Sorry to hear that. I hope she feels better soon." Rogue said.

"I just hope she's not contagious." Remy commented. Rogue heard a splashing sound and a rather indignant squawk from Remy, from which she assumed that his brother had splashed water on him.

"In that case I hope she passes it on to you." Henri said. "Actually no, I take that back. You're a real baby when you get sick."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am NOT!"

"Fight nice, children." Rogue remarked drily. It was beginning to sound like a playground argument going on in here. And if they could bicker like this, then whatever was wrong with Mercy must not be too serious, so Rogue relaxed a little.

"NO!" came from both of them, and Rogue snickered. It felt like things were getting back to normal around here, and she was thankful for it. Just then the tea kettle started to whistle.

"That certainly didn't take long." She remarked, hearing it stop a moment later.

"I made Mercy some tea earlier, so the water was still warm." Henri said, and Rogue could hear the sound of washing resume.

"Was she able to keep it down?" Rogue asked.

"No. That's why Tante is out getting some ginger."

Rogue heard footsteps approach. "Here's your tea." Remy said, and she heard the clink of china as he set the cup on the table. Taking off one glove, Rogue felt for the cup and picked it up, taking a sip. The tea was a special blend Tante picked up at some market somewhere; spiced with enough cinnamon, clove and other yummy things that it didn't need sugar. Rogue had tried it one day and it had immediately become her favorite.

"Thanks Remy." She said, and heard him pull a chair out across the table from her and sit down.

"_Non probleme." _He replied.

The water shut off and the clatter of dishes ended. "Can you check in on Mercy later, Remy?" Henri asked. "She was supposed to do a job today but with her feeling the way she is I'm gonna have to take her place."

"_Oui,_ I'll look in on your girl." Remy replied. "You sure you'll be able to pull it off as well as her though? She seem to got a way with guards." There was a hint of laughter to his voice.

"I'll be fine. She may be prettier, but I prefer a more direct approach anyway." Rogue could hear him walk past the table. "I'll see you two later. Have a good day, Rogue." Henri said, and left the kitchen. It was still a little weird to listen to these people talk about committing crime like it was just another day at the office. Rogue had known all along what they were, but it was hard to associate these friendly people with the cold hard reality of what they did for a living. And this was Remy's job too; the only reason she had even met him was because he'd had the bad luck to get caught. She knew he wasn't working currently, but sooner or later he'd go back to it. And for some reason it didn't bother her. Rogue knew it should; these were a bunch of criminals after all, but the way she figured it, they had treated her a lot better than most law-abiding folk tended to. And that made them okay in her book.

Rogue took another sip of her tea. "So when do you start working again?"

"Dunno. _Mon pere_ hasn't said. Probably in another couple of months; he wants to wait for the law to stop watchin' me so close." Remy said. "It's not like I don't have anything to do in the meantime."

"For another few months anyway." Rogue said, and decided to go ahead and tell him. The longer she waited, the harder it would be. "Remy….I've asked Professor Xavier to go ahead with the paperwork to transfer guardianship to him."

The kitchen was quiet; Remy didn't speak a word, and the only thing Rogue could hear was the sound of a bird outside.

"I think it's the best thing to do." She said, feeling like she needed to defend herself when he continued to say nothing. "It's getting more and more dangerous to be a mutant in Louisiana, and now you're saying there's a guy stalking me. It just seems like a good time to get out, you know?"

"No…you're right Rogue..you're right. It's a good idea." Remy said, but to Rogue's ear it sounded a little forced. Could it be too much to hope that he would miss her? "No sense hanging out here when you've got family waiting for you in New York. Kurt must be thrilled."

Rogue continued to drink her tea. "I think he was relieved more than anything. He's been really worried about me."

"Understandable. You're his _petite soeur_, it's his job to worry. Now he won't have to do it from a distance."

Rogue nodded a little. "I suppose."

"When will you leave?" Remy asked.

"I don't know. Professor Xavier has to go through the red tape at Social Services; background checks and stuff. Who knows how long that will take. There's also the possibility that they might not approve him."

"What will you do then?"

Rogue took the last sip of her tea. "Wait until I'm eighteen, then go to New York on my own. Irene left me some money; I don't know how much, but I'm sure it will be enough to get me up there. If not, then either Kurt or the Professor would probably help." Either way, she would not stay in New Orleans. If she could leave before next week she would, but that just wasn't possible. She'd have to sit with Mercy in that church and listen to Remy pledge himself to someone else. It didn't mean she had to be around to witness their life together though, and she wouldn't.

"They'll help you any way they can, _chere,_ and if that doesn't work out…" Remy paused. "Well you are safe here too._"_

"Thank you Remy." Rogue knew that the LeBeau's liked her, and felt thankful that she had a haven here if she needed it, but she wouldn't feel comfortable doing it unless she absolutely had to. It wouldn't feel right to stay unless she could contribute in some way, and she couldn't think of any way that she could be useful around here.

Faintly she heard the sound of the doorbell, and the chair scraped across the floor as she listened to Remy get up.

"That'll be Martine." He said. "Time to hit the books." It sounded like he was trying to tease, but the playful note that was usually in his voice was lacking.

While Remy left the room to go let Martine in, Rogue got up from the table, took her cane and carefully made her way over to where she knew the sink was, and feeling around, placed her now empty teacup in the sink. She could hear Martine's voice now in the foyer, and even though she didn't feel like studying today due to the sadness she'd cast over herself and Remy by mentioning her departure, Rogue knew she couldn't get out of it and made her way out of the kitchen to join her tutor.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy closed the door to the library and left Rogue and Martine to their lessons, not really feeling like learning anything today. His mind kept going back to what Rogue had said. She was going to leave. Of course, he'd known that eventually she'd leave New Orleans to join her brother in New York, but she'd finally taken that step to put things in motion, so it just came down to a matter of when. He had to admit, a little part of him had kept some hope that she would change her mind and decide to stay down here. But no longer. The wheels were in motion, and this Professor Xavier sounded like the kind of man who could get things done, so Remy had no doubt that it wouldn't be long for him to get the process completed and then Rogue would be on her way north. Away from him. It was selfish to want her to stay, Remy knew that. Her only family was in New York, along with opportunities that she might not be able to have here, but he couldn't help wishing that she would stay. It was pointless though; he had little to offer her, he couldn't even offer himself. Then again even if Remy could offer himself, he didn't know if she would accept him. He had no idea if Rogue felt the same way he did. He knew she cared about him at least as a friend; her actions after Etienne's funeral had proved that. But anything else? No clue. Rogue wasn't the type to flirt, especially with an engaged man. And Remy couldn't do anything about that engagement. There was too much riding on this marriage, he owed it to his family and the Guild to secure their safety and future.

Heading towards the stairs, Remy went up to check on his sister in law. He knocked gently but there was no answer in the room she shared with his brother, so Remy quietly eased the door open a crack and peeked in. Mercy lay in bed, a quilt bunched up around her, the only sound in the room being the soft sound of her breathing as she slept. She looked peaceful, and Remy figured it was the only time she ever did. His mouth quirked in a little smile, and he closed the door again, not wanting to wake her up and incur her wrath.

Remy went back downstairs and into the kitchen, intent on finishing the cup of coffee he'd left there when Martine had arrived. Rogue had given him some things to think about, and he was wondering how to tie it in to the man who was following them. Technically he didn't have any way to tie this guy to the mysterious family friend from Rogue's past, but if one thought about it, it was certainly plausible. Remy knew that if he himself had managed to get his hands on enough adamantium to make a cane, he'd certainly want to know what had happened to it. He hadn't mentioned it to Rogue, but if that cane of hers was true adamantium, it was probably worth the price of a small country. Irene Adler had some good friends. Whoever had had that made had either serious money or serious connections. Remy had to wonder though; who on earth would think to take adamantium and use it to make a cane for a blind girl? True, the stuff was indestructible, but if someone wanted something durable there were plenty of other materials that could be used that would fit the needs of someone like Rogue and not come with the mind-boggling price tag. There were too many questions, and the only people who could answer them seemed to be either dead or missing. Of course there was the mysterious John Anderson, but Remy needed to figure out how he fit into this picture. He'd have to get Emil to help him again. If Emil could get the drivers license number from where the car was rented, then maybe he could get an address and start figuring out who this Mr. Anderson is. If they were lucky, Emil could track down who he worked for. Remy was willing to bet that John Anderson worked for a government agency, which would make it highly likely that he was Rogue's visitor from years ago. If he was the family friend that Remy suspected he might be, then why was he only showing up here now? Where was he when Rogue's foster mother was dying of cancer in the hospital? Just one more question to add to the list.

Remy wanted to grab Emil and put him in front of the computer until he came up with the information Remy wanted, but his cousin was out gathering info for a job and probably wouldn't be back until afternoon. Normally he'd be feeling annoyance and a bit of envy that he couldn't be out working himself, but he was concerned enough about this situation with Rogue that he probably wouldn't be able to focus anyway. So having nothing better to do for the moment, Remy returned to the library to join the women in their studies.

O-o-o-o-O

There were times when Pietro Maximoff wished that he _wasn't_ a Maximoff. If he hadn't been born to Magneto, he may have had a chance at a normal childhood. He wouldn't have had to put up with his father's high expectations, wouldn't have had to watch while his twin sister and best friend was dragged off into an asylum because she couldn't control herself and her powers.

Most importantly to him right now, he wouldn't have to be sitting here listening to Toad sing along to the radio.

According to Mapquest, the trip from Dallas to New Orleans was only supposed to be about eight hours, but with Blob wanting to stop every couple of hours to either pee or eat, it seemed like it was taking forever. The entire Brotherhood was loaded into a van, as they needed the room for Forge and/or Destiny and Rogue when they found them. Given the dates and contents of the letters he had found, Pietro suspected that Irene Adler may no longer be among the living, and he wasn't sure about how his father would feel about that, but as long as they came back with Forge then everything would be fine. And if they managed to find Rogue while they were in New Orleans then that would be even better.

It was a shame that they couldn't have flown though. Lance was driving because he was the only one currently with a valid driver's license. He was a firm believer that the driver had control over the radio, and while his choice in music was okay, Toad insisted in singing along to everything, whether he knew the song or not. What made it worse was that the boy couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. After making several futile attempts to get him to stop, Lance had given up and dealt with the situation by turning up the volume on the radio. Blob had taken shotgun as it was the only seat he could sit in, and the two of them were close enough to the speakers that they were able to ignore Toad. Pietro and Wanda weren't so lucky. Wanda however had had the foresight to bring along an iPod, and she had her earbuds in, blissfully unaware of the aural torture being committed by her teammate. Which left Pietro to sit and suffer.

"Are we there yet?"

"What?" came the response from the front of the van, voice raised to be heard over the radio.

Pietro leaned up to Lance. "ARE WE THERE YET?" he yelled in the young man's ear.

Lance glared at him. "Damn, there's no need to shout."

"Then turn the radio down!"

"Not until he stops singing." Lance said, turning his attention back to the road.

Pietro glared back, and then started looking around the van. It was an old van they had stolen from a construction site, and there were a few tools lying around in the back. Completely disregarding that he should be remaining in his seat with his seat belt buckled, Pietro started scrounging around the stuff, and finally came up with something useful. Taking the roll of duct tape, he glanced over at Toad, who was still singing away happily to the song on the radio, and an evil grin spread over his face. In the blink of an eye, he tackled Toad, whipped the duct tape around him to tie him up, and used a smaller piece to cover his mouth. Toad glared at him from behind the duct tape bindings and struggled, but he was stuck fast and couldn't get free. More importantly, he couldn't sing.

Satisfied that he wasn't going anywhere, Pietro went back up the front area.

"You can turn it down now!" he said loudly to Lance. Glancing backwards quickly, Lance saw the trussed up Toad, grinned and turned down the volume.

"Nice." He commented.

"Happy now?" Pietro asked sarcastically.

"Yep."

"Good. Now, are we there yet?"

"Nope."

Pietro grumbled to himself and sat back down in his seat. Throughout this Blob just sat and looked out the window, munching on a bag of chips. Wanda glanced over at her brother and smirked.

"It's about time." She commented.

Pietro flashed his sister a quick grin, happy to have even this small bit of approval from her.

Thankfully the rest of the trip passed peacefully, despite the occasional angry whimpers from Toad, and before long the Brotherhood arrived in New Orleans. While looking for a motel, Pietro and Wanda argued about how many rooms to get.

"Look, Father gave _me_ responsibility over this credit card." Pietro said. "I have to account for every penny charged on it. We'll be fine with two rooms. Blob needs a bed all to himself, so Lance and Toad will have to share. You and I can split a room."

Wanda had by this time put away her iPod. "I AM not sharing a room with you." She glared at her brother.

Lance turned his head and glared at both of them. "Why do I have to share a bed with Toad?" he demanded.

Pietro ignored him. "What's the big deal? We used to share baths when we were little. It's not like I'm going to try to watch you while you change or anything, sheesh."

A hex bolt began to form in Wanda's hand and she narrowed her eyes. "Either I get my own room or the motel gets to charge the cost of washing your remains off the wall to Father's precious credit card."

Pietro swallowed. "Right. Sure. No problem. You can have your own room." He said hastily, wisely not wanting to push her any further. "I'll just get my own room too then."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Lance protested.

"I'm the one with the credit card."

Lance muttered something unpleasant to under his breath and kept on driving. Eventually they found a cheap little motel and took three rooms. Toad, who was finally freed from his duct tape bindings, hopped around the room he was sharing with Lance and Blob, complaining about having been tied up.

"Shut up or _I'll_ tie you up this time." Lance finally said, and turned the tv on.

Dinner was pizza picked up at a nearby little pizza parlor and they ate together, Pietro ignoring Blob's complaints that he wanted Cajun food.

"The last thing I need is you getting indigestion while we're supposed to be working." He said finally.

"Not all Cajun food is spicy." Blob said, cheese dripping down from his fourth slice of pizza onto his fingers.

Pietro made a face, really not feeling like arguing. "Fine. We'll find a place _after_ we go to that hospital. Now hurry up and finish so we can go."

After looking it up in a phone book, the Brotherhood climbed back into the van and made their way over to St. Michael's Hospital. Toad opened his mouth to start singing once Lance turned on the radio, but closed it quickly when Wanda made the duct tape approach him threateningly. Pietro approached the front desk, the others following just behind him, and he looked at the receptionist.

"We're looking for a patient who was here about a year ago; Irene Adler." He said.

The receptionist looked up at him. "I'm sorry but I can't give out patient information without authorization." She said. "Are you a family member?"

Pietro glared at her. "I wasn't asking." He said, and to his right Wanda started creating a hex bolt. The receptionist's eyes widened in fear, and she gulped, looking at Wanda warily.

"Um…she's not here now, she died over a year ago from a brain tumor." The woman said quickly. "You're not the first person to ask about her either. There was a man here a few days ago, he asked about her too." She added.

Pietro nodded slightly. Good, that meant Forge was here too. His father would probably be disappointed to not be able to have that little talk with Destiny he had wanted to have, but she was beyond his reach now. Just one more person to inquire about.

"She had a daughter, Rogue. What happened to her?" Pietro asked.

"Social Services. They took her after Ms. Adler died. They've probably still got her. I don't know what happened to her after that. Please, don't hurt me; I swear I don't know anything else." The receptionist said.

"Nah, I won't hurt you." Pietro said, smiling at her unpleasantly. "Just tell me where the Social Services office is. Better yet, write down the address."

Nodding hastily, the woman scrambled to do as she was told. Her hand shook as she wrote down the address, then she held the paper over to Pietro. "Here." She said. "The office closed at five though."

"Thanks." Pietro smirked. "We'll get out of your hair now."

The woman sighed in relief.

Pietro moved away from the front desk and headed back toward the entrance. "Come on guys."

"Can we stop at the cafeteria and get a snack?" Blob asked as he followed him.

"No. I thought you wanted Cajun food?" Pietro asked.

"Oh yeah."

As they went through the entrance, Wanda tossed the hex bolt she'd created behind her, and screams could be heard as it exploded. Pietro shook his head. The last thing they needed was to have reports of mutant attacks out and possibly drive either Forge or Rogue into hiding. It was too bad that the Social Services office was closed for the day, but they could in the morning. For now he had to keep his teammates occupied, hopefully without destroying the city in the process.

As promised, they looked for and found a Cajun restaurant, and soon they were all sitting at a big patio table. Well, almost all of them were sitting. There was a band playing that funky music that they played down here, Pietro couldn't remember what it was called, and Toad was on the table dancing. Blob had ordered gumbo and a huge plate of crawfish, and was happily eating. Lance had a fake id and was sipping a beer, watching the girls go by, while Wanda calmly ate a bowl of jambalaya. Not wanting a second dinner after the pizza, Pietro had ordered a couple of beignets and was nibbling on one now, occasionally licking powdered sugar from his fingers.

"Do you want one? They're delicious." He said to Wanda, offering her one.

"Yeah sweetums, should sweeten you up, heh heh." Toad said, grinning down at her. Pietro suspected that from his position on top of the table, the boy had a good view down his sister's shirt, and was enjoying it very much.

Apparently Wanda suspected the same thing. "Stop looking down my shirt." She snapped, throwing a minor hex bolt at Toad that was still strong enough to throw him off the table. Toad squealed as he flew through the air, landing on the other side of the balcony. The people around them started looking at them warily, one or two even the patio area to go back into the restaurant.

Blob looked at her pleadingly. "Aw man, can you at least let me finish my dinner before getting us thrown out of here? This stuff's awesome!"

Wanda gave him a dirty look. "Just tell _him_ to stay off the table." She said, pointing to Toad.

His sister's persistent suitor looked wounded. "But babycakes, I was just appreciating your womanly charms." He said, and ducked as Wanda threw another hex bolt at him. This time the remaining patrons on the patio began to scream and ran back into the restaurant, a couple of them jumping the railing that divided the patio area from the street.

Lance looked at both of them in disgust and Pietro felt the earth begin to shake as Lance applied a little power to the ground beneath them.

"Knock it _off_." Lance growled.

"Oh yeah, like _that's_ going to help avoid trouble." Pietro remarked sarcastically. Blob began to shovel food into his mouth. A man in a suit appeared in the doorway to the patio.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded, looking afraid and angry at the same time.

Surprisingly enough, Blob managed to finish his dinner before they got thrown out.


	36. Scenes From a Mall

O-o-o-o-O

_This is all Toad's fault_… Pietro thought to himself. It was late Friday morning; he had planned for the Brotherhood to pay a little visit to the Social Services office and find out where Rogue is being kept. It wouldn't take very long. Just have Wanda give a few of her infamous glares, maybe have Lance shake things up a little, and those bureaucrats would be peeing their pants in no time. Maybe even have Blob throw a piece of furniture or two just for fun. But noooo…because of Toad they were here at the mall. That stupid twit just _had_ to go and piss off Wanda while they were out for breakfast this morning, the end result being holes in the wall of a downtown diner, and hollandaise sauce, eggs and Tabasco landing all over hers, Toad's and Lance's clothing. And as none of them had brought any spare clothing on this trip as they hadn't been sure how long it would last, they had put a halt to their plans to visit Social Services in order to visit the nearest mall instead.

Toad had been easy to shop for; a t-shirt bought at the dollar store suited him just fine. And it was definitely an improvement to have him in clean clothes; Pietro couldn't remember the last time Toad did laundry and was now thinking maybe they should have ruined his clothes sooner. It would certainly be easier than trying to get him to take a bath. Lance took a little longer as he was slightly more fashion conscious. Pietro figured it was because he was still trying to make a good impression on that X-girl, Kitty. He didn't know why, as the girl didn't seem to have eyes for anyone except Nightcrawler, but that wasn't his problem. Personally Pietro thought that if he wanted to make a good impression, then Lance should start by getting a haircut. The shaggy look he usually sported looked just a little too 80's. Finally though, Lance found a shirt he was happy with, and he and the rest of the boys were sitting in the food court, waiting on Wanda. She'd been inside what seemed to be the local version of Hot Topic for the last half hour. Pietro hadn't thought that Goths could be so fashion-conscious, but apparently they were just as bad as any other girl when it came to clothes. He wanted to get out of here; they had a job to do and the sooner they got out of here and found Rogue and/or Forge the sooner they could leave, but he valued his life too much to try and hurry his sister up.

In the meantime the four of them were bored. Well, not all of them. Blob had visited one of the vendors in the food court and was happily munching on French fries and reading a comic book. Lance and Toad were playing cards, with Toad flicking his tongue out occasionally at a fly that was buzzing around his head, but it didn't seem like he was really trying to get it, which Pietro was eternally grateful for. Finally Lance laid down his cards.

"Gin." He said, not really sounding too excited about having won.

Toad made a face, and flung his cards down on the table. "Yo, how much longer is that girl going to take? She don't need to take this long to be beautiful, she's gorgeous already, you know?"

Pietro snorted. "You wanna go and tell her to hurry up?"

Lovestruck as he was, Toad paled a little at this suggestion. "Um, no…that's okay, she can take as long as she wants."

"Man, why does she get away with whatever she wants?" Lance griped, picking up the cards to shuffle them again.

"'Cause she can kill us all with just her pinky?" Blob remarked from the neighboring table, which he had to himself.

"…besides that." Lance said.

"That's enough for me." Commented Toad, before flicking his tongue out and swiping one of Blob's fries. Unperturbed, the huge young man continued to eat.

Bored with watching the card game and disgusted by Toad's oral antics, Pietro idly watched the various shoppers as they passed by. Just everyday boring humans, the occasional cute girl but other than that nothing interesting. And it was while he was watching a particularly hot redhead go by that he missed seeing a very familiar dark-haired man…

O-o-o-o-O

_This is all Belle's fault…_ Remy thought to himself as he and Rogue made their way through the mall. He'd planned on having a normal day. From the start however it didn't look like it was going to go that way. First of all Martine had called in sick, having caught whatever 24-hour bug was going around, so there were no lessons for Rogue today. But that was okay; Remy figured they could hang out, play some games on the computer, maybe even go out to lunch. Henri and Emil were out working, and after losing her breakfast for the second day in a row, Mercy was back in bed again, so he and Rogue were pretty much on their own after Tante Mattie left to do the grocery shopping.

That was before Belle called, of course. She had called to remind him again about the wedding rehearsal tomorrow, with a family dinner afterwards, and asked if he had gotten himself a tuxedo for the wedding. To which Remy calmly answered that _of course _he had bought a tux.

After he hung up the phone, he announced to Rogue that they were going to the mall, as he needed to get a tuxedo. Since the wedding was next week, he didn't have time to have one made, so he was going to have to rent one. Belle didn't have to know, and what she didn't know wouldn't hurt him. It wasn't like wedding dresses anyway; people didn't expect guys to pass down their tuxedos throughout generations. Now why couldn't brides be that way about dresses? It would be so much easier than all the trouble they go through to find a wedding dress, and maybe there wouldn't be as many 'bridezillas' or at least as many as there seemed to be on the shows that Mercy liked to watch sometimes. Remy didn't get why his sister in law liked watching those reality wedding shows. She was married already, so what was the point? Just another thing that she told him he'd never understand. It was just as well though; it seemed like something he wouldn't want to understand. He was glad Rogue wasn't like that.

Remy had stuck his head into Henri and Mercy's bedroom to ask if he could borrow her car, and after hearing what sounded like a mumble of consent from the lump underneath the covers, he had brought Rogue over to the mall, where they were now heading over to the menswear store, which was over on the other side of the mall, past the food court. He felt a little bad having to bring her along while he tried to find a tuxedo, but there really wasn't much else he could have her do and anyway she'd tucked a book into her backpack so at least she could read while he tried on suits.

The two of them were just entering the food court, Remy not really taking any particular notice of the passersby as he was caught up in his own thoughts, when his arm was grabbed from the side, bringing him to a stop. As he had Rogue's arm tucked in his, this also brought her to a stop, although much less gracefully as she had less warning as to what was going on. Remy turned his head to see the face of Rogue's apparent stalker, the mysterious John Anderson. Mouth set tightly in a grim expression, the man looked deadly serious.

"This wasn't how I wanted to do things, but no time to explain; you've got to go." The man said. "Take her and get out of here, _now_." A shout came from within the food court, and both Remy and Anderson looked, the latter obviously not liking what he saw.

"Damnit." He said, letting go of Remy's arm. "Get out. Get her out of here. It's not safe."

"What's going on?" Remy demanded, pulling away from the older man and drawing Rogue closer to him. This was the opportunity he'd been looking for. He had a lot of questions for this man, and he intended to get some answers.

Anderson however, wasn't in the mood for answering anything. "GO!" he said, then looked back into the food court. Looking in the same direction, Remy saw a group of four young men, most of whom looked to be around his age or maybe slightly younger. Gathered at two tables, they were staring back at him and Anderson, looks of recognition and disbelief on their faces. One of them, an arrogant-looking blond, finally spoke up.

"You idiots, get him!" he called out to the others. Then before Remy could even blink the blond disappeared, only to reappear a second later next to them.

"Hello Forge." He smirked at Anderson, disappearing and reappearing in various places around the man. "Long time no see. You've been a bad boy; Father wants to have a nice long talk with you. And who are your friends?" He asked, coming to a stop and giving Remy a brief glance before setting his gaze on Rogue. "Is this Rogue?" he grinned, and stuck out his hand. "Hiya Roguey, good to finally meet you. Oh wait, forgot you can't see me. What a shame, your loss." He said, not sounding that regretful at all, and put his hand back down. "Sorry to hear about Destiny but to be honest she's better off; Father wasn't too happy after you two disappeared."

"Quicksilver….." Anderson growled, and pulled his fist back in an apparent attempt to throw a punch, but the younger man did his little disappearing act again, this time reappearing on the other side of Rogue. Remy realized the man wasn't actually disappearing though; he was just moving very, very fast. He was like a hummingbird on crack.

"Really think you can hit me, old man? I'm too fast for you, too fast for anyone." The oddly-named Quicksilver laughed.

Rogue looked bewildered. "What's going on, Remy?" she demanded, grabbing his arm and tightening the grip on her cane.

"I don't know, _chere_, but this new friend of yours is here, and seems to have brought trouble with him." Remy said, and with his free hand drew a card out of the pocket of his coat, charging it so it glowed brightly.

Quicksilver's eyes widened a little, but he didn't back down. "Guys! Get over here!" he shouted, and the people around them, who had given them a wide berth once the shouting started, began to scream as the earth began to shake. Remy was surprised too; when the hell was the last time they'd had an earthquake in New Orleans? But looking over at Quicksilver's friends, he saw that one of them was standing up, fists clenched, a grim look of concentration on his face, and he understood that Anderson, or Forge…._Forge? where had he heard that name before?_...or whoever he was, had some strange, powerful enemies. Remy didn't know a lot of mutants, other than himself, Rogue, Ororo and her friends up in New York; now they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. And the connection seemed to be Rogue. What did they want with her? Remy could think of a few ideas, but there wasn't time to think about this though, or ask questions. Anderson was right; he needed to get Rogue out of here. Quicksilver's other two friends had also gotten up and were now approaching. One of them, a huge mass of flesh, leaned down and actually _ripped_ a table out of the floor before throwing it at them. Remy threw the charged card he had in his hand, and it connected with the table, causing it to explode in midair. People ran frantically, screaming, and Remy backed away, moving Rogue with him.

The shoppers weren't the only ones startled by Remy's actions. Anderson and Quicksilver looked surprised, but the former recovered more quickly, grabbing a gun that looked kind of like a phaser from Star Trek out of his pocket, and aiming it at Quicksilver, fired a beam of red light at him. As he wasn't paying attention, Quicksilver was unable to dodge in time and so was blasted back, sailing through the air until he hit a wall and slid down, landing on the floor of the mall.

"Nice little toy." Remy said, eyeing the 'ray gun', not sure what else to think of it as. He still wasn't sure who this guy was, but he seemed to be on Rogue's side, which made him a little okay with Remy, at least for now until he could get some answers out of him.

"Thanks." The older man said tersely. "What the hell was that just now?" he asked, then fired again at the huge man that had thrown the table. Unlike Quicksilver though, Anderson's little device seemed to have no effect, as he just kept coming at them.

Remy shrugged. "Charge some playing cards with energy. Give 'em a toss. They hit the target, they go boom. Problem solved." The three of them stumbled as the earth began to shake again.

"Or maybe not."

The large man swept the debris from Remy's explosion like it was nothing, and he started toward them, followed by the one who seemed to be making the earthquakes and the smaller one. Remy noticed as they approached that the latter looked slightly greenish, and he wondered what his power was. Leaping up, the boy attached himself to the wall, and a long tongue flicked out as he grinned at them and crawled over the wall, moving past frightened shoppers more quickly than he probably would on foot.

_Ewww…_ Remy thought to himself.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Rogue insisted, gripping Remy's arm tight enough that it hurt. "Are we having an earthquake?"

"Not exactly." Remy said, and pulled her backwards with him, getting ready to make a break for it but not sure how quickly he could get them away while having to lead her. "Who the hell are these friends of yours?" he asked Anderson/Forge. "And for that matter, who the hell are you?"

The older man shook his head. "Long story. No time to tell it right now. Just consider me an old family friend." He said. "Can you fire off a few more of those cards of yours? We can use the distraction to get out of here. I'll keep them busy; you just take her and go."

Remy wondered how the other man could manage to hold off these guys by himself, but already he had taken the gun he had used to shoot Quicksilver and Remy watched in morbid fascination as Anderson lifted up a piece of _skin_ from his _arm_, revealing circuitry of all things. Remy remembered Otis telling him that Anderson had a prosthetic hand, but apparently that wasn't all that it was. He pressed a couple of buttons and a slot opened up in his hand, which he fit the gun into. A red button lit up on the gun and Anderson aimed it at the three that were moving towards them. They didn't seem to be in any hurry, and Remy figured they were confident in their ability to take them out. Remy had a feeling that Anderson had a surprise up his sleeve though, so to speak.

The other man glanced at him, noting his surprise. "You can say I've had an interesting life. It's part of that long story that I'll hopefully get to tell you later. Now get to blowing things up."

"Whatever you say _m'sieur_." Remy said, and grabbing a handful of cards out of his pocket, charged them before throwing them at his targets. None of them actually hit the others, but he didn't need them to hit, horseshoes and hand-grenades were not the only things that close enough was good for. And he was right; the charged cards landed a few feet away from the three men, with the resulting explosion big enough to throw them backwards.

"Nice. Now beat it." Anderson said, and fired his gun, with whatever adjustment he had made causing the beam to be larger than the one that had hit Quicksilver. It hit the obese man just as he was getting up again, and this time was strong enough to knock him back down again.

This time Remy decided to take Anderson's advice and leave. He seemed capable of taking care of himself; besides, what did he really care if these guys got him? He still didn't know who this guy actually was, but they could figure that out later, if the man managed to get away from his 'friends'. The main thing right now was to get Rogue away from here.

"Come on." He said, and started pulling her away as she began to protest. "I'll explain later; right now we need to go. Now _run_." Remy said, and started off as fast as he could manage with her stumbling behind him. He felt bad doing this to her, but he could always apologize later.

The level of panic had increased after the second explosion. More people were screaming, others were running like chickens, while other stood and took pictures. Remy figured YouTube was going to be loaded with videos of this in minutes. The world was full of idiots. He knocked people aside, ignoring their protests and curses as he tried to clear a path for himself and Rogue. She tried to keep up as much as possible, but people kept bumping into her, and without being able to see it made her slow down and Remy wondered how much longer Anderson, or Forge, or whoever he was would be able to hold those guys off.

An explosion sounded behind them, but it wasn't anything like the sound of the gun that Anderson used, and Remy wondered whether one of the punks had a power he hadn't seen yet or if a new player had entered the game. It was too late to go back now; they were finally reaching the mall entrance and the only thing Remy wanted to do now was escape, as he'd thought of a new problem. The police were going to show up sooner or later, and he didn't need be caught at the scene of what people would interpret as mutant terrorist attack. He supposed it really could have been a terrorist attack; after all, he had no idea who those guys were, but ultimately it was very personal. They had been after both Anderson and Rogue. So no, there would be no going back. He didn't care what blew up; Remy was already in enough trouble with the powers that be as it was.

In the parking lot, he found Mercy's car, got them both inside and drove away from the mall as fast as he could without attracting attention. Police cars were pulling in, and he managed to put a nervous expression on his face; just another frightened shopper trying to escape the scene of the attack. This was rather true of course, but they hadn't exactly been innocent bystanders.

The minute they started driving, Rogue started in with the questions. "Alright, what the _hell_ is going on? You'd better start talking fast, Swamp Rat." She demanded, and her tone of voice told Remy that she was dead serious this time.

Remy sighed and scratched the back of his head as he drove.

"I'm not exactly sure what's going on, _chere,_ but that man back there was the one we ran into at the café, the one who tried to follow us. There were four other guys, mutants, and they're the ones who attacked. The one who called you Roguey is super fast. There's also a really big, strong man, a guy who seems to be able to cause earthquakes, and one who seems kinda like a frog. Apparently they were after both you and the guy who followed us, John Anderson. I don't know if he's a mutant but he doesn't seem to be completely normal either. He's got a prosthetic arm he can use to power up a gun. Pretty cool, actually." Remy admitted.

Rogue gave a faint nod. "That one guy, the one you said was fast, he called him 'Forge', too. I heard him. Wasn't that the name of the man Kurt and Ororo had mentioned, the really technical guy who disappeared?"

_I knew I'd heard that name before._ Remy realized.

"You're right. I wonder if these losers had something to do with him going missing?"

"Well they didn't seem too happy with him." Rogue said. "But what do they want with me? And why did they call Irene 'Destiny'?"

"I don't know." Remy replied. "Seems like every time we find an answer to something in this, even more questions pop up. Anderson, or Forge, or whoever he is, he sounds like he knows the answers though. Makes me wish we hadn't left him behind."

"Yeah. We still don't know how to find him either. What if he leaves the city? What if those guys chase him out?"

Remy shook his head. "_Non, _I don't think he'll do that. He seems too interested in your welfare. He's gonna stay right here, but we're gonna have to wait for him to come back to us. If it was me I'd stay out of sight for a little while, and he knows where to find you now, at least when you're at the home." He sighed and pulled up to a stoplight. "I don't like this. I want you to stay at the house this weekend, where I know you'd be safe, but I've got the wedding rehearsal and dinner tomorrow, and the family will be gone all day." Remy then realized something.

"_Merde_, I never got that tux." He said. Belle would have his hide if he didn't have a tuxedo for the wedding. Remy turned onto his street, did a beautiful albeit highly illegal U-turn, and drove back onto the road they'd been on. There was another rental shop in a different part of town, and since they were out anyway, he might as well go and get the damn tux business over with anyway. Besides, who's going to look for them at a tuxedo rental shop?

O-o-o-o-O

Forge took a quick glance behind him to make sure that Remy and Rogue were getting away, and after seeing them hurrying off in the other direction he turned his attention back to the problem in front of him. Four problems, actually. Toad leaped from his position on the wall, meaning to tackle him, but Forge dodged out of the way and the young man landed in a crouch on the floor.

"Give it up, yo. You're outnumbered." Toad smirked, and leaped at him again. Forge found himself wishing that he hadn't sent Remy away; the young man was rather handy in a fight. It made him more curious as to who he was and how he'd come into Rogue's life, but that was something that could be found out later. For now he had to deal with the fact that Toad was right; Forge was in fact outnumbered. With advance warning, he could have put together an arsenal that would send Magneto's second-class errand boys running with their tails between their legs; but Forge hadn't expected to run into the Brotherhood so soon here, and not in the middle of a mall, so he only had the one weapon on him at the moment. With Cyclops' help, he'd created it to generate an energy beam very similar to what the younger man shot from his eyes. And while it was a very effective weapon, he was still only one person and wouldn't last long if he didn't do something that would allow himself an escape.

An explosion from the other side of the food court caught everyone's attention and Forge looked to see a familiar face. It was the girl from the Acolyte base, Magneto's daughter; and apparently whatever quarrel she'd had with her father and brother were resolved, if she was here now helping Pietro. She looked better than she had previously; calmer, and while Forge still didn't know why she had helped him previously he doubted he'd get that lucky this time, and he'd seen what she could do back when she was trying to kill her father. Desperate to get away before she joined her teammates or got down to the business of attacking him, Forge raised his gun and fired a beam into the ceiling, moving it in a circle until a large section of ceiling came crashing down on top of the Brotherhood. Forge ignored the resulting cries and just turned and ran. He couldn't take the time to wait and see if any of the Brotherhood managed to avoid the collapsed ceiling, especially not Quicksilver. People were in his way but he shoved them aside, heading as quickly as he could for the exit. Once outside he found his car and tried to get out of the mall parking lot but found the exits blocked by police and terrified shoppers who were also trying to escape. Finally Forge drove over a strip of grass and sidewalk, ignoring the shouts and indignant hornblasts of other drivers, and managed to get onto the main road. This really wasn't how he had envisioned his day going. Denise at Social Services had met with him after the blood work was done for the paternity test yesterday, and told him that she'd arranged for him to have a supervised visit with Rogue on Monday. Because of this, Forge had decided to go to the mall and get some new clothes; something nice enough for a formal visitation. It was while he had been looking for the menswear store that he had caught a glimpse of the Brotherhood, as well as Rogue and Remy. So much for getting a new suit; there was no way he could go back to that mall. Forge knew there were other places to go, but with the Brotherhood out on the prowl for him, he didn't dare show his face around town. But what about Rogue, had she and her friend with the exploding card trick made it out okay? Forge wanted to go straight to the home to see if she was there, but for one thing he doubted they were there, they were probably wherever it was that Remy took her during the day. And for another thing, if the Brotherhood caught up with him he didn't want to lead them to her by mistake.

Forge looked behind him; there were no signs of any maniacal teenagers following him, but then again he didn't know what they were driving. As much as he hated it, but the only thing he could do right now was go back to the hotel, at least for the moment. Later he would go to Azalea Lane and try to catch up with them, maybe even get some answers finally as to what had been going on in the past two years.

O-o-o-o-O

Oddly enough, the rest of the day went rather quietly, which is how Remy had wanted it to go in the first place. He found another menswear store and rented a very respectable-looking tuxedo. It wouldn't be seen on anyone at the Oscars anytime soon, but it looked good enough for the wedding and all the picture-taking that would follow, which is all that mattered. Not wanting to stay out in public any longer than necessary in case Anderson's friends from earlier showed up again, Remy took Rogue back to his house immediately after he finished his business at the menswear store. By this time Mercy was up and feeling better from the morning's bout of illness, and they spent some time in the kitchen helping Tante Mattie make lunch. Rogue even helped in this, as Mattie told her she could peel shrimp just as well as anyone, doing it by feel, and Rogue seemed please to find that she was right. The afternoon was eaten up by games on the computer, listening and laughing to standup comedians on the televisions, and just hanging around and joking with Mercy and Emil, who had finished his job early. Finally though, Remy had to take Rogue back to the home, and he led her out of the house reluctantly. He wouldn't see her again until Monday, as the weekend would be taken up with the rehearsal and other activities for the wedding.

Turning into the parking lot for Azalea Lane, he saw a familiar figure sitting on the bus stop bench across the street, and frowned. Remy knew he would show up eventually, but part of him had hoped that this morning's activities at the mall might have sent him running out of New Orleans and away from them. There were enough problems going on here already, with the upcoming Mutant Registration act and all, that he and Rogue didn't need any more trouble. No such luck.

After leaving Rogue at her room, he peeked into Candace's office to check in for the evening, but the woman was on the phone and just waved him away. Remy left the building and instead of going to his motorcycle, he walked across the street and approached Anderson.

"Don't you think it's a little stupid, coming here?" Remy asked, standing near the older man.

Anderson put down his newspaper. "Maybe. But I think I managed to get away well enough that they weren't able to follow me. That bunch isn't exactly known for their subtlety anyway; I'd notice if they'd picked up my trail."

Remy gave a faint nod. "So should I call you Mr. Anderson, or do you go by another name?"

Anderson shrugged. "Call me Forge. I'm more used to that name."

Remy nodded again. "Alright. Forge then." Then he grabbed the man's collar and pulled him up from the bench. "Now tell me who the hell you are and what you want with Rogue." He snarled.

Forge blinked in surprise for a moment, then grabbed Remy's wrist with his prosthetic hand. "I'd suggest you let go of me, if you want to keep this in one piece." He said calmly, and squeezed tightly. Remy felt his bones grind together painfully, and realized that the man had enough power in that hand to break his wrist badly. He also knew that he could charge that hand, but not before his bones were snapped. Reluctantly, Remy let go, and Forge sat down again.

"Have a seat. I doubt you want to attract any attention, do you?" he asked, and Remy sat down.

"Okay. Now back to my question. Who are you?" Remy asked.

Forge picked up his newspaper again. "I could ask you that same question. Who are you and what are you doing spending so much time with Rogue?" he asked, and Remy saw an almost menacing look in the man's eyes. He didn't want to answer, but he needed answers from Forge for Rogue's sake, and he saw that the only way he was going to get those answers was to cooperate at least a little.

"Remy LeBeau. I'm Rogue's companion, but she's also my friend. And you?"

"You can say I'm an old friend of the family." Forge said. "Anything else will come after I've spoken to Rogue."

Remy stared at him in disbelief. "You expect me to let you anywhere near her with just _that_ for an explanation? How come she's never heard of you?"

Forge looked at him contemptuously. "Who the hell do you think you are to say who has any contact with her? I _will_ get to see her soon, and there's nothing you can do about it. To answer your question though, Rogue has met me, but I'm not surprised she doesn't remember. It's been several years. My work keeps me very busy, and lately I was….busier than usual." he said. "I was out of contact when Irene became ill, and I didn't find out about her death until recently. _This_ would never have happened if I'd known." Forge said, pointing to Azalea Lane.

There was something the man wasn't telling, something major. Remy could see there was something Forge was avoiding, but he seemed rather adamant that he wasn't going to talk to anyone but Rogue.

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and believe you?" Remy asked.

Forge shrugged. "You don't have much choice, do you? The only reason I'm talking to you at all is that you're Rogue's friend. Sure, you could hurt me with that power of yours, but you'll never get any answers that way, and you'll only be hurting Rogue in the end. Do you really want that?"

Remy shook his head. He really wanted nothing more than to charge the man's hand or clothes, try to force an answer out of him, but Forge was right. Dead men couldn't talk. And if he really was the family friend that he said he was, then Rogue wouldn't thank him for hurting or killing him. He then remembered something, and looked at Forge, narrowing his eyes.

"Actually I do think I know something about you. You're the Forge who helps out at the Xavier Institute, aren't you?"

Forge's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at Remy warily. "What do you know about that?" he asked.

Remy smirked, glad to finally shake up this mysterious man a little. "Ororo Munroe is an old friend of _my_ family." He said, but the smirk faded as he realized something else. "I know someone else, too. Kurt Wagner. If you know these people, and Rogue's family too, why didn't Rogue know about her brother? Why has she thought that she was alone?" Remy demanded.

The Native American man's face actually managed to turn pale, and he looked haunted. "Rogue…knows about her brother?"

"_Oui._ They've even met. No thanks to you though, apparently." Remy said. "Did Rogue's foster mother know about this? What kind of messed up family are you friends with, anyway?"

Forge became angry when Remy mentioned Irene Adler. "You have no right." He said in a tight, quiet voice. "I don't owe you any explanations for what I have and haven't done. There's only one person who has the right to demand anything from me, and she gets to hear this before anyone else does." With that he got up and stalked toward his car, which was parked a little way down the street. Unsure what to do next, Remy watched as Forge got in the car and drove away. He did know, however, that he was going to have to warn Rogue that she was going to be approached soon. Whether this was a good thing or not, he still wasn't sure.

O-o-o-o-O

Candace sat in her office chair, phone at her ear, doodling on a pad of paper as she listened to the woman on the other end of the line talk.

"What can I do for you?"

.

.

"I see."

.

.

"Really?" Candace's eyes widened at what she'd just heard. "I thought the girl didn't have any family. Are you sure about this?"

.

.

"I see."

.

."Yes, I can do that."

.

.

"Yes, I'll let her know. Monday afternoon. Right. Okay, well thanks for letting me know, Denise. You have a good weekend."

Candace hung up her phone and sat back in her chair, lost in thought. This was certainly a surprise. The supposedly orphaned Rogue wasn't as much of an orphan as everyone thought, assuming the blood test came back the way Denise thought it would. Apparently there was a man in New Orleans claiming to be her father. Candace had a feeling that this John Anderson was probably telling the truth. Why on earth would someone want to claim paternity of a mutant girl anyway, unless it was true?

And the man would be coming on Monday. Denise Adams had arranged for him to visit Rogue, and wanted Candace to let the girl know and to be ready. Normally she would do this; she'd wanted Rogue off of her hands ever since the girl had come to stay at Azalea Lane, and this would have been perfect. But there were other plans for Rogue now. Candace had been advised by her friends in the Friends of Humanity who had certain connections in the government that the Louisiana Mutant Registration act would be passed, and there was a little surprise planned for the mutants in the area to celebrate that legislation. Mutants in other areas would feel the effects of this as well. So there was really no need to let Rogue know about her father's upcoming visit, since by Monday she wouldn't be here anyway.


	37. Petite Soeur

AN: My dear, beloved readers: please be warned that in this chapter there is material that some of you may find a little disturbing.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy walked quickly into the house when he arrived home and ran up the stairs, ignoring Tante Mattie's call for him to come to supper. He needed to call Rogue and let her know what had happened. There was something seriously screwed up going on here, and apparently she was the only person who would be able to get any answers out of this guy. Going into his bedroom, Remy pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number to Rogue's room at the home. It rang and rang, but there was no answer. Finally Remy hung up. She must be at dinner. That was okay, he could call her later. In the meantime, there was someone else he could call too. He dialed another number and let it ring, and this time someone answered.

"Xavier Institute, how can I help you?" A young man's voice asked.

"Ororo Munroe please." Remy said.

"Sure, hang on." The boy said. "Hey Auntie O! Phone call!" he yelled out.

"She'll be here in a second."

"Umm..thanks." Remy said, and waited. _Auntie O?_

Finally he heard Ororo's lovely voice. "Hello?"

Remy grinned and couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her. "_Bonjour chere. _ Anybody ever mention you got a real sexy voice? You must give great phone." He said, glad that he was down here and she was up there, where she couldn't reach out to smack him upside the head.

Ororo gasped. "Remy LeBeau! You watch your mouth. What would that fiancé of yours say if she heard you talking like that?"

"Ah but Ororo, you know you love me too much to hurt me by telling her." Remy said, flopping onto his bed.

"And you'd better remember that too." She said.

"I do, I do." Remy replied, then sighed, needing to get back to business. "I got a question for you. I was curious. That friend of yours you mentioned, Forge. What does he look like?" He was already sure it was the same guy, just from the man's reaction earlier, but he wanted to be _completely_ sure.

"He's in his forties, Native American, long black hair…why do you…Remy, have you seen him?" Ororo asked.

Remy let loose a breath, as her description matched the man he had seen. "_Oui, chere._ He's here in New Orleans. I don't know where he's been but I do know he's been hiding something from you. He says he knows Rogue. He's been following us for a couple of days. I talked to him today; I don't know exactly what his relationship is to her but he says he's a friend of the family and won't talk to anyone but Rogue." He continued on, explaining the events of the past few days, including the little episode at the mall.

"Remy…" Ororo said, shock in her voice. "I can't believe this. He's been missing for two years. No one's been able to find him. And now he just shows up in New Orleans. I don't understand what's going, but I _do_ know who those people are that you ran into today. They're a mutant group called the Brotherhood, led by a very powerful mutant who calls himself Magneto. And you say they were after both Forge _and_ Rogue?"

"_Oui_. One of them was saying that his father wanted to have a long talk with Forge. They also knew that Rogue's foster mother was dead, but they called her a funny name. Destiny. You know anything about that?" Remy asked.

"The father in question would be Magneto. His son's name is Pietro, but he goes by the code name Quicksilver. And Destiny was the code name used by Irene Adler when….." Ororo stopped for a moment. "Remy, we haven't been completely honest with either you or Rogue. There are some things we haven't told you about Rogue's mother. I didn't want her to find out this way, but I guess there's no helping it now. Raven Darkholme was also known as Mystique. She and Irene Adler worked for some time along with Magneto. His aim for years now has been to destroy humans and elevate mutants as the superior race. I don't understand what happened between him, Destiny and Mystique, or how Forge is involved, but we can't let the Brotherhood get their hands on either Forge or Rogue."

Remy was glad he was already sitting down, because as stunned as he was he wouldn't have been able to remain standing for long. What the hell kind of family had Rogue been born into? Mutant terrorists running around with code names, evil plots to destroy humanity; it all sounded like something out of a comic book. He didn't know what to make of this, but it increased his worry for Rogue. And all this time her only remaining family, her brother, had kept this from her. What a nice way to start out a family relationship.

"Why didn't you tell her about this?" Remy demanded, annoyed now with his friend. "Don't you think Rogue deserved to know this?"

Ororo sighed. "I'm sorry Remy. We should have told you both. But Rogue was just getting to know Kurt. How do you explain something like that to someone who is just discovering she has family?"

She was right, Remy told himself silently. What was Kurt supposed to have done, go up to Rogue and say 'Hello I'm your brother, and by the way, our mother was a terrorist'?

"I don't know." Remy said at last. "How do I tell her now though?"

"Don't say anything."Ororo replied. "I'll let Kurt know what's going on, and he will talk to her about it. He'll be able to give her more information about this anyway. I'll talk to Professor Xavier also. He'll want to know about Forge. Do you have any idea where he is now?"

Remy shrugged, even though she wasn't even there to see it. "No. I know he's somewhere here in New Orleans though, and I don't think he's going to leave anytime soon. He was pretty set on talking to Rogue; he even said he would get to see her soon, but I don't know how or when."

"I don't understand what his connection is in all this."Ororo said. "I wasn't even aware that he'd known Mystique or Destiny; he's never mentioned having met them. I hope you find him soon Remy, he's got a lot of explaining to do. Let me know if you hear anything, I need to go talk to Kurt and the Professor."

"I will. G'night _chere._" Remy said, then paused. "By the way, Auntie O? Since when were you an auntie?" he asked.

Ororo laughed. "That's my nephew Evan. He's my sister's child. He came here to the Institute after we found out he was a mutant."

Remy grinned. "Auntie O. I like that. I think maybe I'll start calling you Auntie O."

"Not if you value your life you won't." Ororo told him flatly.

"Have I mentioned that you're no fun?"

"Yes Remy, on several occasions. Goodnight Remy." Ororo said, and Remy found himself listening to the dial tone. He smirked and put his phone away, then went downstairs to dinner.

O-o-o-o-O

Saturday morning entered itself into Remy's consciousness via the insistent beeping of his alarm clock. Not bothering to open his eyes, he reached over and slammed his hand down on the offensive instrument, the force of it causing the clock to fall off of his nightstand and onto the floor. Sighing in relief at the silence, he buried his face half into the pillow again. His peace and quiet did not last long though, as a banging was heard on his door several minutes later.

"Hey Remy! Get out of bed!" Henri's voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Remy groaned, and lifting his head out of the pillow, responded with a comment that was definitely not meant for polite conversation.

"What you do with the gators is none of my business."His older brother retorted. "Now get up. If I've gotta be up, so do you. It's _your_ wedding after all."

Remy sighed and opened his eyes. Lovely sunlight streamed into his bedroom, and he would have enjoyed it if it weren't the fact that his wedding rehearsal was today. An entire day wasted down at the cathedral, going over the ceremony, where everyone was supposed to sit and stand and all that other stuff, to be followed by a nice big group dinner with both families attending. That was sure to be an interesting time. Remy wanted to be sure that he was sitting far away from Julien, in case his future brother in law decided to poison him before the wedding. He definitely wouldn't put it past the little bastard.

Reluctantly Remy rolled out of bed and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. The water helped him wake up a little; being a night owl, he'd rather stay up until dawn than get up at dawn. It wasn't dawn of course, but it was still morning and Remy wouldn't mind mornings if it weren't for the fact that they took place before noon. Once clean, he got dressed and headed downstairs. In the kitchen there were lovely smells of bacon and eggs cooking, and on his way to the cupboard to get a coffee mug Remy noticed his family sitting around the table. Today's newspaper was already divided up, with Jean-Luc reading the news, Henri going over the sports section and Emil looking at the comics. Mercy sat next to her husband, with nothing but a glass of water in front of her. She was looking a little pale, and Remy suspected that she had probably been sick again this morning. It was a little long for a bug to be lasting, and he wondered what else was going on. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Emil.

"Mercy." Remy said, looking over at his sister in law. "This twenty-four hour bug of yours is in its third day; you sure you shouldn't see a doctor?"

Henri took his attention away from the newspaper and looked at his wife, a question in his eyes. Mercy just shrugged and smiled weakly at him. "We might as well tell them." She said, then looked around at the rest of the family. "I'm going to have a baby."

Everyone just stared for a moment, surprise on their faces, then the congratulations began. The only people who didn't look surprised were Henri and Tante Mattie. Remy guessed she had probably suspected something already. Emil hugged Mercy and clapped Henri on the back.

"Congratulations!' He exclaimed, and sat back down with a grin on his face.

Jean-Luc got up and went over to his daughter in law, kissing her cheek. "Wonderful." He smiled. "Thank you for making me _un grand-pere_."

Emil snickered. "So does this mean we get to call you Gramps now?"

The Patriarch of the Thieves Guild looked at his nephew. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked, giving the boy a look that made him swallow.

"Um…maybe not." Emil responded.

"Wise decision." Jean-Luc said, and returned to his chair.

Remy grinned. "So _mon frère_, you finally made yourself useful, hmm?"

Henri just flipped him off, looking too happy at the moment to get into it with his little brother.

"So why didn't you say something sooner?" Emil asked.

Mercy took a sip of water before answering. "I wanted to be sure. We've been trying for a few months now, and I didn't want to say anything in case it turned out to be a false alarm. But it's true."

"You realize what this means, right?" Remy asked Emil.

"No, what?"

"Revenge. We're going to have a little niece or nephew to spoil rotten." Remy smirked.

Emil laughed, but an evil look came over Henri's face. "You know what else it means, right?" he asked. "Diaper duty."

Remy stared at him in disgust. "Diapers? You're kidding, right?"

Jean-Luc shared a look of amusement with his oldest son. "No, I think it's a good idea. If you want to have the fun then you should share in the work as well. It's only fair, yes?"

Mercy smiled. "I think it's very fair. Besides, it'll be good practice for you, when you and Belle start having your own."

"You're a cruel woman, _chere_." Remy shook his head. Everyone laughed and ate their breakfast, but he just chewed his food, lost in thought. Mercy was right. He and Belle were going to be expected to have a child, to help cement the union of the Guilds. Was he ready to be a father? Even more, was Belle ready to be a mother? He wanted to think so, but he wasn't sure. And even if she was, there was part of him that was saying that if he was going to have a child with anyone, he didn't want it to be with her. Remy couldn't let his cold feet get him in trouble though; Belle was suspicious enough of him as it was already. His wedding was in a few days, and it was too late to step off the path he was on, even if he wanted to. The only thing he could do was keep going, save his family and worry about the future when it arrived.

O-o-o-o-O

The cathedral was just the way Remy remembered it, from when Kurt had visited with Ororo for the first time. It had just been the three of them and Rogue, appreciating the music of a practicing singer, enjoying a happy afternoon. Today was a little different.

Now that the morning's nausea had passed, Mercy was feeling better and sat in the front pew of the cathedral, along with Tante Mattie. Technically neither one of them was part of the wedding party, but both families were expected to be here today anyway. Remy, along with his best man Henri and his groomsman Emil, were standing up front at the altar, while the fussy little man that Belle had hired to make the wedding plans, arranged and rearranged their positions until Remy was ready to shove him out a window. Belle and her bridesmaids, both of them friends and fellow Assassins, stood towards the rear of the church, deep in conversation with the priest who would conduct the ceremony. Remy found it a little odd, and more than a little sacrilegious, for an assassin to be married in a church, but then again God supposedly wasn't too fond of thieves either; besides, it was family tradition on both sides.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc and Marius stood off to the side, neither of them talking, just keeping an eye on the whole thing, as well as on each other. And in the back sat Julien, with a look of dark disgust on his face that he didn't even try to hide. The young man hadn't said a word since getting here, but the way he watched Remy spoke volumes, and Remy knew that the only thing keeping Belle's brother from burying a dagger in his back was fear of his father. There had to be something that could be done about him, other than feed him to the gators, and that would just be mean to the gators. Belle wanted to send her brother out to run the west coast chapter of the Assassins once the unification of the Guilds was complete, but there were two problems with that. One, Marius still might decide to make Julien the head of the Guild instead of Belle, and two, Remy might not live long enough to see Julien leave town.

They went through the motions of practicing the ceremony, Marius walking Belle up the aisle; and even though she was just wearing jeans and a top, she still managed to walk as though she was actually wearing a long gown. Remy had to admit, she would be a beautiful bride. If this had been a few months ago, he would have been excited, anticipating the actual wedding day. The only thing he was feeling right now was boredom at having to go through all of this standing around and listening to the wedding planner give orders, and worry over what might be happening out there right now. Had Forge managed to get in to talk to Rogue? Had the Brotherhood managed to find Forge? There was just too much going on right now for him to be bothered with this, but there was no way he could tell Belle that.

Just when Remy was about to break out a pack of cards and play Solitaire, the wedding planner announced that they were finished. Remy gave a silent sigh of relief and pulled his hand out of his pocket, where he had started reaching for the deck. Belle walked over to him, with Julien following not too far behind.

"You were such a good boy today, Remy. I know you were bored." She smiled. The rehearsal had seemed to make her happy, and Remy was glad that she was in a good mood. Belle leaned up and kissed him, and he kissed her back. Despite anything else he might want, _this_ was his future, and he had to make the best of it. He didn't want to spend his married life at odds with his wife.

"Good thing he wrapped things up when he did, I was thinking of getting a game of poker started with Henri." Remy joked. "So now what?"

Belle gave him one more kiss and stepped back. "Well I don't want to go to dinner looking like this." She said, pointing out her jeans. "Julien's going to take me home so I can change. We'll meet you all at the restaurant."

Remy was going to point out that she looked fine the way she was, but he knew it would be pointless. Despite her cold-blooded career, Belle was rather girly, and wouldn't go out to dinner unless she was looking her best.

"Alright, I'll see you there." He said, and watched as she walked off. Julien just glared at him before turning around to follow his sister. Remy sighed and went to join his family. Maybe it wouldn't be such a sin to give a gator food poisoning.

O-o-o-o-O

Julien drove home, listening to Bella chat about how pleased she was that everything was coming together so nicely. Frankly it made him want to rip out his eardrums. With the wedding day coming closer and closer, he had become more and more irritable, and it was all that he could do to not take it out on his sister. If she would just _listen_ to him. She didn't have to do this; the Assassins had skill on their side, they could take out the Thieves in one fell swoop if his father just put his mind to it. Julien truly hoped that Marius would decide to turn over the Guild to him when he retired. It was still a possibility; despite the upcoming end of the feud, Julien knew that his father would never want to see a LeBeau in charge of the Assassins, which is what would happen if Bella gained control, as she would co-rule with Remy. If Julien took over there would be no need for a truce, as there would be no more Thieves Guild; he would put an end to them for good. He just had to hope that his father would see reason. And then, once the Thieves were out of the way, Bella's husband would have a quiet little accident. His sister would be upset, but there would be no way to pin it on Julien, and she would get over it in time. She may even come to thank him. And he would be at her side, not the way he secretly wanted to be, but that didn't matter as long as they were together. If only…

After they arrived at the house, Bella went upstairs to change while Julien went into his father's study to pour himself a drink. The bourbon was harsh as it went down his throat, and he welcomed the burn. Once the glass was emptied, he poured himself another. He didn't want to go to that restaurant and sit with the Thieves and pretend like everything was good and happy. His heart was breaking with a pain that was like acid in his stomach and he had to go there and pretend nothing was wrong. Well he couldn't do it, not anymore. He _wouldn't_ do it.

When Bella came back downstairs she was lovely in a little red sundress, her golden curls loose around her shoulders. Julien appreciated the view for a moment. His sister always knew how to dress for any occasion.

"_Tres joli_." He said, giving her a faint smile. Bella grinned and spun around on her heeled shoes, showing off for him. So lovely. Why did life have to be so cruel as to have them share the same blood? They were perfect for each other.

"Thanks. Are you ready to go? They're going to wonder where we are." Bella said, picking up her purse from the front table where she'd laid it down when entering the house.

Julien followed her out into the foyer, steeling himself to disappoint her. "I'm not going."

Bella looked at him. "What do you mean, you're not going?"

"Exactly what I said. I'm not going. The thought having to sit and eat dinner with those Thieves makes me want to throw up." Julien said in disgust. "Besides, I've just had two drinks; do you really want me to drive?" Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd end up staying home. Her car was in the shop right now and she couldn't drive his since she didn't know how to drive a stick.

His sister frowned at him. "I can't believe you're doing this." Letting out a grunt of frustration, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Remy, _cher_, can you come pick me up? Julien's being a brat and won't take me to the restaurant." She said, frustration in her voice. Julien hated making her unhappy but he just couldn't do it tonight. He wasn't sure yet how he would be able to make it through the actual wedding.

She paused for a moment, listening. "Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes then. Thank you." Bella hung up and put the phone back in her purse, then turned to look at him.

"You're hurting me with this attitude of yours Julien." She said. "I know you don't want this for me but it's going to happen, there's nothing you can do about it. And _I_ want this to happen. I'd marry Remy even if our parents didn't want it. I love him, and he loves me, even if he's having trouble remembering that right now."

Julien just looked at her in frustration. "It's wrong. You're a sacrifice, throwing your life away. You think you're uniting our families but those Thieves will never respect you, they'll treat you like shit. And that snake Remy will never keep his vows; he can't even keep his eyes away from other women now. You'll be the laughing stock of the LeBeau family, the trophy wife he had to take while he goes around and screws whoever he wants."

The hurt was plain on her face. He knew that he'd never spoken like this to her before, with such anger in his voice, but he couldn't help it. Maybe it was the only way he could make her see.

"It won't be like that." Bella retorted. "Remy knows I'd cut his balls off if he ever cheated on me. And that little blind girl he's been hanging around with? Remy told me she's moving to New York. She won't be around anymore. And the LeBeaus _will_ respect me. They'll have to. Mine and Remy's marriage will be too important to them for them to risk creating trouble."

Julien took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He didn't want to fight with her like this. There had to be something he could say. Maybe if he just pointed out that they had other options.

"Bella. I know you think you have to do this; that you have to save our family, but you don't have to. Father isn't aggressive enough to do what needs doing, but I am. If you support me we can get the backing of the other Assassins and we can convince Father to retire and turn the Guild over to me. Together we can strike against the Thieves and wipe them out. This is what we do best and there's no way they could stand against us."

Bella just looked at him in shock. "Julien, I can't believe you're saying this. You want to push Father out of the way and take over? You're not meaning to kill him are you?"

He shook his head. "No, _petite_. I couldn't kill our father, I just want to convince him to retire. I can't do that without you though; if we're together on this we'll get the others to side with us." His words were meant to reassure her, but in the back of his mind there was a cold, quiet knowledge that if it came to it, he was more than willing to kill his own father if it meant keeping his sister out of the hands of the LeBeau's.

Apparently there was something in his face or voice that wasn't reassuring enough though. Bella took a step back away from.

"No Julien. I can't let you do this. I won't help you destroy the Thieves Guild. You're drunk, you can't mean this."

"I do mean it. I won't let you marry that bastard, and I'll do whatever 's necessary to stop it. You aren't going to leave me." He said, angry at her refusal, her stubborn insistence on going through with this.

"Leave you? Julien I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here in New Orleans, nothing will change except where I live." Bella relaxed a little bit, and laughed. "Oh Julien, my dear brother. I know we've spent our lives together but you have to give me up sometime."

The sound of her laughing at him when his heart was breaking infuriated him, and a weakening of his self-control caused by the alcohol allowed something to snap inside of him.

_...you have to give me up sometime…_

"No…" he whispered in desperation, and stepping forward he grabbed his sister and pressed his mouth to hers. Bella's eyes widened, first in surprise then in horror, and she whimpered, trying to push him away, but Julien had always been larger and stronger than her, and was able to keep her in place. Her mouth was soft and sweet, and he kissed her deeply, not letting himself care that she was struggling against him. He wanted this for too long, had kept the feelings bottled up so tightly that when they finally let loose he was overwhelmed by them, doing what he had always sworn he would never do.

Julien pushed her against the wall, pinned there by his body, and allowed one hand to travel over her. He left her mouth and pressed kisses against her cheek, going down the line of her throat.

"_Petite_ _soeur_…" he whispered, and just held her for a moment, unable to believe what he was doing but unable to stop himself. Bella was crying now, pleading with him.

"Julien, stop, please…" she begged, still trying to push him away.

He heard her and a pang struck through him, dividing him. One part of him, the brother, saw his little sister in front of him; the girl he'd grown up with through bikes, mudpies, games and getting in trouble. When she cried that she was afraid of the boogeyman, he hugged her and told her that they were Assassins and Assassins were too quick and clever for the boogeyman. The brother screamed and kicked inside, screamed that he was making his little sister cry. The other part of him, the man, all he saw was the beautiful woman who shouldn't be his sister, standing outside the front door with her new boyfriend Remy when they first started dating, caught up tight in his arms, her hair shining in the moonlight as they kissed. And all the man had wanted to do was drive his fist into the window and drag the other man through it by his throat; but he had no right, he had…no…right. And oh how it burned, the acid in his heart.

"Julien please, you're drunk, you don't know what you're doing, please…"

He was about to kiss her again to stop her pleading when he was suddenly yanked away from behind. Julien turned his head in surprise only to see a fist driving into his face. So caught up in what he was doing, he hadn't heard the front door open.

O-o-o-o-O

Remy pulled up in front of the Boudreaux house and parked his bike. He'd been just about ready to place his order at the restaurant when Belle called. He supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised that Julien had pulled something like this. Besides, he was happy about the fact that he wouldn't have to put up with the creep during dinner, so frankly it was no great loss at all. Remy told himself that one of these days though, he was going to have to teach Belle how to drive a stick shift.

He went up the front steps to the door and was about to knock when he heard voices on the other side. Belle sounded upset, she was talking to someone desperately. An intruder? It took a _really_ foolish person to try to break into the house of an Assassin, especially the one belonging to the Guild Patriarch, but there was always the possibility that Belle could have been caught with her guard down. Remy opened the door quickly but when he saw what was in front of him, he was stunned and horrified. He had always suspected Julien of being an incestuous little freak, but he never dreamed that the man would go this far. Rushing into the room, Remy yanked Julien away from his crying sister and plowed his fist into the other man's face. He was satisfied to hear the crunch of bone as Julien cried out from his nose breaking. Belle slid down to the floor, still crying.

"You…_sick….fuck."_ Remy said, absolute disgust in his voice. Despite everything that had happened lately, Belle was still his fiancé, he still cared about her. And no one deserved to be nearly raped by their own sibling. "How could you? Your own SISTER! You just couldn't keep your hands off her, could you?" He shoved Julien away and the man stumbled backwards, holding one hand carefully to his bleeding nose. Remy knelt down next to Belle, taking her hands.

"Shh…_petite…_it's gonna be okay." He said quietly, trying to calm her. "Let me take you out of here…he won't hurt you again." He had to get her out of this house, take her home with him, or at least to her father. Marius would be in a rage when he found out about this, and Remy had no idea what would happen to Julien. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be enough though to punish him for this.

Belle sniffed and looked up. "Oh god Remy…" she cried, and he took her into his arms.

"You get away from her…" he heard Julien snarl from behind, and he let go of Belle to turn around, only to see Belle's brother coming at him with a knife that Remy recognized as one that Marius kept on the wall as a decoration. Remy barely managed to duck in time to avoid being stabbed, and rolled away from the enraged man. He stood up and looked around for a weapon, and thankfully Marius Boudreaux liked to collect and show off weaponry, because there was a spear in a glass case on the other side of the foyer near the stairs. Remy raced across the room as Julien started to come after him again, and broke the glass of the case, wincing as he hurt his knuckles. There was no time to pay any attention to that however, because he was in serious danger of getting more hurt than his knuckles, so he grabbed the spear out of the case and turned just in time to block Julius from stabbing him. Remy thought he must have been drinking, because the Assassin's reflexes didn't seem as good as they normally were. And he was very glad of this, because in normal circumstances there was a very good possibility that Julien could kill him. Even while a little under the influence though, the man was still a formidable opponent.

The knife came at him again and Remy blocked, but not enough this time to avoid getting a cut on the arm. The knife sliced through his shirt and into his skin like it was butter, causing Remy to give a grunt of pain.

"Stop this." He said, backing away as Julien came at him again. "I don't want to hurt you." Well, that wasn't really true. Nothing would make Remy happier than to see Julien Boudreaux six feet under, but the trouble it would cause between the Guilds was unthinkable.

"No." Julien spat. "You can't have her. She's _mine._"

"Are you listening to yourself? She's your _sister._ You're drunk, you creep. Go sleep it off. You're already in enough trouble as it, you don't want to cause anymore."

"Remy! Julien! Stop this!" Belle called out from behind them.

"Listen to her Julien. You're hurting her. She doesn't want you to do this. She'll forgive you, but you've got to stop now." Remy said, ducking under Julien's arm and kicking him, causing him to go backwards and crash into a cabinet that stood against one wall. China rattled inside and Remy had the fleeting thought that it was weird to have weapons and dishes as decorations in the same room, but then again it wasn't his house and what did he care what Marius Boudreaux liked in décor?

Remy used the momentary break that Julien's collision with the Boudreaux family china caused to swing the spear he was holding at him. The handle struck Julien on the side of his head and he looked dazed for a moment before shaking it off and coming after him again.

"Remy, please, don't hurt him!" Belle said, and Remy was surprised. The man had just tried to rape her and she was trying to defend him? Then again, he was still her brother, even if he was a twisted freak.

Remy's momentary distraction caused by Belle gave Julien just what he needed to get in an attack on Remy. He tried to block, but only managed to deflect the knife that was meant for his heart to go into his shoulder. Remy cried out as the blade scraped across the bone of his shoulder blade. Julien gave the knife a twist as he pulled it out, causing yet more pain. Remy backed away as Julien prepared to correct his error and finish him off this time. Drawing his spear back, Remy barely noticed that he was charging it as he drove it into Julien's chest. The man looked surprised as the sharp tip of the spear head slid in. Remy didn't notice that he had charged the spear until he had let go of it, and reacting on instinct, he dove away from Julien, curling into a ball. The explosion behind him was startling loud in the otherwise quiet house, and Remy felt something splash against his cheek. Belle screamed and he was afraid to turn around, know what it had to be and what would be behind him. There was no way around it though and Remy turned, nausea flowing over him at the sight. Surprisingly Julien was mostly intact, as only a small part of the spear had actually gone into him, but what wasn't intact was spread across the room. Remy wiped his cheek and his finger came back smeared with blood. Sickened, he wiped his hand frantically on his pants, not able to bear the thought of Julien's blood on him.

Belle crawled across the floor from where she had remained huddled during the fight and sat next to her brother's body, ignoring the blood on the floor.

"Julien…oh god, Julien…" she wept brokenly. "He didn't mean it, he didn't know what he was doing…oh god…"

Remy didn't know what to do. He hadn't wanted this, he'd tried to get Julien to stop, but he kept coming after him. Was he wrong for defending himself? Admittedly, charging the spear had been a bit much, but he had been hurt and afraid for his life; he hadn't really been aware that he was doing it.

"Belle…" he said quietly, getting up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't want to do it…"

His fiancé looked up, and the change that came over her face was frightening. A look of pure hatred emerged, and she grabbed the knife that her brother had been using.

"I'm going to kill you." Belle whispered in a chilling voice, and got up from the floor. Remy noticed the dark spotches of blood standing out against the brighter red of her dress, and instead of charging him with the knife like Julien had, she instead threw it, causing Remy to dive to the floor again. His wounded arm and shoulder screamed at him, and he could feel his shirt dampening from where both were bleeding. He couldn't fight her. He was bleeding, he couldn't stand the thought of hurting her, and besides, in the cold fury she was in, there was a very good chance that she could kill him. He had to get out of here.

Belle stood between him and the door, but he shoved her away easily as he ran to make his escape.

"I'm sorry." He said, before going out the door. Remy ran down the steps to his bike, and it took his trembling hands a minute or two, but finally he managed to get the bike started and he raced away from the Boudreaux house. Things have gone wrong, so very very wrong. There was going to be serious trouble. Marius would never forgive him for killing his only son. Remy didn't know what kind of compensation the Patriarch of the Assassins would demand from his father, but he was pretty sure that any chance of peace between the Guilds was over, along with any thought of a marriage between him and Belle. There was also the possibility that he could be charged with murder. He could try to plead self defense, but with Belle as the only other witness he thought it highly unlikely that it would work. He'd end up in prison for sure. Away from his family, away from Rogue. Who would be there for her? There was her brother, but Remy didn't know how long it would take to get her to New York. There was possibly Forge, but Remy still knew so little about the man that he couldn't quite trust him with her. She'd be alone, again. Some companion he'd turned out to be.

Remy pulled in at the restaurant the two families were at and climbed off his bike. He needed to go to a hospital and have his injuries looked at, but he had to let them know what had happened first. He walked past the hostess when he went in, ignoring her stunned look at his appearance, and headed for the private room that Marius had reserved for the family dinner. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. Remy felt sick, fear and horror twisting his insides painfully. Everyone was chatting calmly, until Mercy looked up.

"Remy! What's happened?" she exclaimed, taking in his disheveled appearance and the blood on his clothes. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?" His family, Marius and the Assassins from the wedding party all stared, various expressions of shock on their faces.

Marius Boudreaux's face stiffened. "Where is Belladonna?" he asked. They all had known where he was going after he got the phone call. For him to return by himself was a clear indication that something was wrong.

"Let me look at you, boy." Tante Mattie said, getting up to examine his arm, where the blood showed through the fabric of his shirt. Remy uncharacteristically brushed her aside though, and faced his father.

"Papa…" he said. "Julien…he's…" Remy stumbled on his words though, and had to take a deep breath before continuing. He explained what had happened, what he had found when arriving to the house, and the fight he'd had with Julien. His family looked horrified, while Marius's face turned white, then turned cold.

"You…" he started, then stopped. "I don't believe you. Julien would never do something like that to his own sister." He then turned to Jean-Luc.

"I demand justice. Your son's life is now forfeit, and if you don't turn over to me it will be war between us."

Remy looked at his father, wondering what he would do. Jean-Luc was his father, but he was also the Patriarch of the Guild. He couldn't just consider his son, he had to consider the entire Guild and act for the benefit of all.

"There must be compensation Marius, but I will not turn him over to you without discussing this with the rest of the Guild council first. Come to me tomorrow and we will resolve this." Jean-Luc then spoke to Henri, who was looking pale. "Take him to the safe house until after the meeting tomorrow." He finally looked up at his son, but it was not the father whose eyes met Remy's, but instead it was the Guild Patriarch. "You will be held in seclusion until the council can negotiate with the Assassins and determine your fate."

Henri looked reluctant, but he nudged Emil and they both got up and approached Remy, looking absolutely miserable.

"I'm sorry Remy." Henri said quietly. "You've got to come with us now. Don't make things difficult. I have to stop you by force if necessary, you know that."

Feeling more horrible than he ever had in his life, Remy could only nod and allow them to lead him away.


End file.
